Awakening
by Werewolf Puppy
Summary: When Lovell Demonte's parents are murdered, her new life begins. New school, new home, and new friends. But that's the least of her problems when her memories start to haunt her and a goddess begins to turns against her.
1. Prelude

Prelude

Some people never think about death and then there are those who think about it all the time. Is there anything after life? Anything at all? I thought about it all the time after my parents were murdered. By what? Dunno. But murdered all the same. Whether it was by a human or by death, murdered.

But what if death is incapable of taking the protected? Protected by god or goddess. Then, is eternal life possible? Are there gifts that can last for eternity? The answer is no. No matter what you are, no matter how you live, we all face the same fate. Oblivion. Destruction. Death.

There are those, however, who live for centuries, until, of course, the world blows. But even then, they can be killed before. Nothing is forever. Nothing is eternal. It's all just a black hole with that speck of light at the end of our own personal hell, called love.


	2. Chapter 2

Death And Renewal

I shifted uncomfortably under the intense glare of the interrogator and despite the one way glass that surrounded me, I could feel the glares of the other cops right outside those walls. It's insane; what happened. I still felt my eyes, puffed up and red from hours of non-stop crying.

"No." I replied, answering the cop's question of "Was there anyone with you when you entered the household?" which he'd asked ten times already. But he still scribbled it down on a legal-looking paper form. I laid my head down flat against the table, staring at my reflection in the mirror-like glass.

_Household? It's my home. _I thought, closed my eyes and willed for it to all just wake up and nothing having really happened. The interrogator turned around and nodded at the glass, knowing the position of someone that I couldn't see. The big metal door at the end of the room slowly opened, and a woman directed me out of the room. She sat me down on a rigid metal chair just like the one I'd sat on for the last ten hours. And the day before that.

The sound of people with official business echoed down the hall and a couple seconds later, a lanky man with graying hair and thick glasses got up from a comfier looking chair and walked towards me, smiling that kind of smile that just makes you feel better. But all I cared was that his chair was comfier. Every detail seemed like the most luxurious thing in the world to me, every extra thread, every extra anything that was good seemed so nice.

"Come on, let's go. To your new family." He said, looking at me like that was the best thing I could hear at the moment. But the best thing I could hear at the moment was, "Oh, it's just a dream!" or maybe "You haven't got to worry, its just you imagination and a bad dream." But I followed him anyways, through long hallways lit with flickering fluorescent lights and decorated with pictures of previous police teams. I followed him up a flight of stairs, concentrating on his footsteps and how they echoed through the building. We entered the big reception area where the police who just arrived from their patrols huddled around the counter, talking and reporting in. It was dark outside but we walked out into the brisk air anyways, which caused goose bumps to raise on my exposed limbs that were covered by nothing but my shorts and the tank top that I'd worn a jacket over, but somewhere along the line of events that had happened to me, had been lost. So, I started shivering as the man let me into the passenger side of an old looking car, sliding in on the other side himself and turning the ignition. As this man forced the car to start, the constant rumble of the engine soothed me, letting me relax a little.

I understood perfectly what was happening. My parents had a will. They told me so just a couple days before. They had left me to someone that they apparently knew for a very long time and trusted but I had never met. That was where I was headed.

We, in the old car, started winding through swerving roads that moved with the land. After checking a piece of paper with notes written down on it, the man yielded off to a smaller dirt road with a short stone wall that had vines and plants taking over, running along each side of the path and leading to a large estate with an older looking house surrounded by a big meadow with large trees that loomed over the land, protective, like a shield.

The house wasn't just old looking. It also had a prestigious, ancient, dignified feel to it. And as we made our to the bumpy drive way, a man emerged from the house who had blonde hair that fell just an inch shy from his shoulders and also fell in front of his eyes, plus stubble that made him look younger then he probably was. He was wearing just a black T-shirt and a pair of very dark jeans, probably his way of mourning.

The man who drove me there got out of the car and walked around to my side, opened the door, and helped me out. He guided me toward the blonde haired man and started a conversation with him.

"You must be the man from the orphanage." The blonde one said.

"Yes. The name's Mr. Opolen. This is Lovell." Mr. Opolen put a hand on my shoulder, my queue to say something.

"Hello." I responded, not even looking at either of them, just staring into the distance of the estate, with its trees and flowers being lit up by the murky glow of a cloud covered moon.

"Hey there. My name's Jason." He said, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw him extend a hand, so I turned and grasped it, looking him in the eye for the first time. They were deep, deep blue and seemed so bright even though the trees above us blocked most of the light… and the overcast moon light. I also saw that he wasn't old at all, that his stubble didn't make him look younger. He looked like he's only in his twenties. But my parents said that they'd known him for a very long time. Since he was born? Not likely.

But I just nodded and went back to looking around, figuring that was the best way to deal with that at the moment.

"Should we go inside and fill out the paperwork?" Mr. Opolen asked, and Jason nodded, leading us inside the big house. He opened a pretty glass and we walked into the foyer of his home, where a table was set up on one side, and paintings and sketches of the land around his home decorated the walls. A old staircase was positioned on the right of the room, winding up to a second floor. The wooden beams that supported the roof were visible above us, criss-crossing all around.

Jason showed us the way into an open kitchen that had dark everything. Dark wooden cupboards, dark granite table tops, dark walls, dark sink, and dark floor tile. An island was in the center and had a couple of bar seats. Jason pulled one out for me but I nodded it away.

"Can I look at the rest of the house?"

"Sure." He said, shrugging it off and letting me go about my business. I wandered through an opening in a wall into a room that was the exact opposite of the kitchen. It was a living room with light everything. There was a sofa, a coffee table, a TV, and some nice mosaic glass lamps. One of the walls in the room wasn't a wall but instead all glass, which let a bunch of the moon's beams into the room, making everything even lighter. A door was off the other side of the room, and I could tell from the position of it that it was probably just a bathroom.

I walked back into the foyer, then to the second floor where there's an office room, a loft with a pool table, a bar with a stocked mini fridge, a bunch of comfy couches, and a large TV with all the works. There was another bathroom, too, on that floor. At the end of the hallway, there's another set of stairs and I climbed up them, looking at paintings that were hung on the wall.

On the next floor up, the third, I entered a door and saw a room that had to be Jason's. There was a queen size bed with no head or footboard which made me realize how tall he really was. On the other side lived a large desk with a computer, a really soft-looking teddy bear, a lamp, the normal stuff. There was a dresser for clothes and a door to a bathroom with a shower, bath, sink, and toilet. Then I walked into the next door on the floor. I still remember it.

First, the back wall was all glass, like the living room, but it had French doors that opened out onto a balcony. I walked out into the night air, saw the back of his house and gasped. Fruit trees, orchids, willows, flowers, a whole range of plants surrounded a crystal clear lake that had probably hosted home to birds during the day. Stables were on the far side of the land. I took it all in and sat on the floor of the balcony, letting the winter air of Florida wrap around me. It was particularly cool, probably in the forties or something like that. I walked quickly back into the warm room, into the closet and grabbed a warm sweater and changed into it, then changed into a pair of jeans. All sorts of clothes for me lined the walls. Pants, dresses, skirts, shirts, blouses, and sweaters. I left them, headed back out onto the balcony and sat back down.

I remember how easy I thought things would be then, that my hell was over and done with, that I could move on now and not worry. I remember how I thought I was just an unfortunate, normal, average person. I was wrong, wrong, wrong, **wrong.**


	3. Chapter 3

The Beginning

I'd been staying at the new house with Jason for a week now, and despite my sadness, despite my coldness, and my indifference towards any activity, he enrolled me in Haver High School. It's a small one, but only because they have a high rejection rate. Which made me wonder, why and how did I get in? Did they even look at my previous grades? C and B student. That was me.

Yet, somehow, Jason talked the principle into enrolling me. And that would have been fine, had it not been in the middle of the year. Transferring in the middle of the year was usually a horrible experience. The teacher had to find an extra seat, no one knows you, a partner project is awkward, and since I'd come from a bigger school with lower grades, it was even tougher. But still, come Monday, I let Jason wake me up, make me breakfast, and help me into his vehicle. He had a black pick up truck with a big truck bed and only two seats in the cab since I guess he wasn't used to having many people around.

Anyways, he drove me just a couple miles out of the woods and into the farm-like town of Oviedo. It was one of those barely noticed places since Orlando was its next door neighbor. But it was nice. There was an old fashioned diner on one corner, a big old church on the other, and lots of chickens just roaming the place, dodging through traffic, which was composed mostly of pickup trucks, like Jason's. We turned off a long street and pulled into the parking lot of the school. Even from there, I could see that this place had a reputation to fill. A tall AmeLovelln flag, big lion statues at the staircase to the opening. Yep, it was all business with architecture.

As for the students, they lounged in the orderly cut grass, strolled along the sidewalk, and sat on the sharply angled steps, talking and laughing as they gossiped and told jokes.

It may have looked like the perfect social picture, but I could see the very organized groups, how some people avoided certain people, how some people talked less or more.

"Its great isn't it?" Jason asked. I barely nodded. In the past week, I'd cut myself off. I didn't need to have relationships with other people. And I refused to because I was afraid something bad may happen.

"C'mon." he murmured, obviously disappointed that I hadn't been excited. We got out of the car and I slung my backpack over one shoulder, quickly falling into place besides Jason. Not many people looked up to observe the noob walking through, but those that did, I met head on and they quickly turned back to their friends, books, etc.

When we pushed open the doors, the icy air conditioning wrapped tightly around us. There were kids in here, too, walking from room to room, getting their errands done before class. We followed a couple of them into the front office, and then looked for someone to help get my schedule.

I had insisted that I would be capable of handling things myself, but _apparently_ the principal had asked Jason to come in with me. So, he walked up to the front desk and started talking to a woman with a ridiculous pixie cut and fake red nails that tapped grossly against a computer's keyboard. I walked over to the longest wall that was decorated with all sorts of plaques and awards. One that caught my eye was this:

This Reward is for:

Harver High

And Their Successful Psychic Research Program

_Successful? Please. _Being the skeptic I was, I didn't think that this "Psychic" research program had really learned anything. Jason walked up behind me, reached over my shoulder, and tapped the golden rimmed award.

"Isn't that cool? I always thought Psychics weren't real until I looked at some of their evidence." I cocked my head and tried to imagine evidence that would make me believe in Psychics. "Hey, or maybe it's just magic." He finished, and pulled his hand back and stuffed it into his jean pocket.

_Nope, not magic either. _I turned around and caught his eye. There was something hidden, some sort of secret but I suppose that I didn't need to know. I shrugged it off as he handed me a schedule. I looked it over and my heart dropped.

_Isn't that just perfect?_ My third period was, wouldn't you guess, a Psychic class. Why would they even have one at this school? Psychics? Seriously? And a class for it? Ridiculous. But I wasn't about to make a scene over changing it. Better to just deal with it and move along. We walked out of the office and into the main hallway.

"You know where everything is, right?"

"Yeah, I got it." I replied, scanning the schedule and noticing that there were no portables, just rooms in this building. It really was a small school. Then, surprising me, Jason pulled me in for a warm hug. I could feel my eyes stinging, wanting to tear up. He felt just like a big brother.

"You're tough. You can make it through at least one day." He let me go and gave me a crooked smile. I wanted to beg him to hug me again, wanted to call him big brother, wanted him to tease me and make me laugh. But I didn't say anything. I just held back the tears and watched him walk out the door. Then I turned and headed towards my first class since the bell had rang.

I walked through the door of room 115, which was my new physics class. Blacktop lab tables were positioned in perfect order, scientific diagram posters coated the walls, and rows of high tech science tools were stacked on shelves. I walked up to the teacher and she signed my schedule. Then she pointed to a table in the back.

"The left side." She ordered after checking a seating chart. I walked slowly towards the table, a little uncomfortable from the stares of students who were already seated.

I sat on the left side of my assigned table, as instructed, and waited for the bell to ring again, signaling the beginning of first period. A guy with spiky hair and muddy brown eyes rushed into the classroom, late.

"Tardy again, Josh? Again and you'll get a detention." The teacher scolded, and typed in what could only be a T on Josh's record. He jogged down the isle and took the seat next to me.

_Joy._ He turned on his chair and said, "Hey, names' Josh. When did you get here?" he said, with a little kid's smile.

"I just enrolled today. My name is Lovell."

"Cool. If you need ketchup on anything," he said, spreading his arms of to the sides. "I'm your man." he finished, and I couldn't help but smirk at his kid-like attitude.

"Thanks." I said and turned towards the front of the room. I prayed that the teacher, Ms. McLonee, wouldn't announce my presence.

"Everyone, open your books to 16.2. We're learning about physics. Answer questions on page 562." She barked, and went back to grading. Instantly, chatter broke out. Just in little blotches, though. Two people talking here, another four over there, creating a messy slew of conversation.

"So, why are you arriving so late in the school year?" Josh asked. That wasn't good. What was I going to tell him, "Oh yeah, my parents died and I was adopted by some twenty four year old that I've never met before?" No, most definitely not.

"Um, family problems." I said, tapping my pen nervously against the table.

He shrugged.

"That's too bad."

_You have no idea._

"What teachers do you have?" he asked, and I slipped my schedule to him. "Cool, you have a couple of my teachers. This one," he motioned towards Ms. McLonee. "doesn't care what we do, long as we don't get too loud and shut up when she's talking." I nodded, glad that the first person I'd met had been successful.

"Hey Josh! Who's the new girl?" A bunch of boys said across their table, waggling their eyebrows at me and looking at Josh with that teasingly annoying look.

"Lovell! She's cool." Josh replied, slinging an arm playfully around my shoulder. He leaned in and whispered, "Don't let 'em get to you. They're just messin' around."

I turned away and stared purposefully at the papers and books in front of me, refusing to play their game. The other guys asked some other questions like where I was from, what classes I had, did I have a boyfriend, things that I could answer; that were simpler then Josh's. I didn't respond. Soon they went back to chatting among themselves, ignoring the work put out for them. I tried to work through the sound, but everything was so loud and after a week of sitting in my new room and reading in silence, it was hard for me to ignore the babble and banter. I only finished half the questions but it was for homework.

Second period was math with Mr. Curoh, and luckily Josh was there to help me stumble through the lesson, getting some things, clueless to other things. But then I was forced to move on to third period. Psychics.

The first thing I noticed when I walked into the Psychic 101 room, was that the walls were painted a mystic purple and how everyone there except the kids two kids that obviously did not want to be there turned when I walked in the door even though I'd barely made a sound.

"Hello, Lovell." The teacher strolled over to me. I was seriously shocked by how pretty she was, with long wavy brown hair and bright blue eyes that looked completely pure. More shocking was the fact that she knew my name even though I hadn't said it yet. She had on a purple tunic with a gold belt and dark jeans, which instantly put her high up on the hip scale.

Unlike other classrooms, this one was laid out _completely _differently. The tables were low to the ground with small throw pillows scattered around the room for sitting on, not chairs. People were huddled together at the tables, leaning over and chattering intently. The teacher stood in front of me and spread her arms out wide.

"Its fantastic, isn't it?" she said. She reached out with a hand and brushed my arm gently. I swear I saw her eyes dilate and re dilate as shock passed across her face. But it was gone in an instant, as was her gentle hand. "Um, here." She said, guiding me towards one of the low standing tables while avoiding my touch.

Everyone at the table looked up, smiled and slowly rose to greet me. They all introduced themselves, and I memorized their names as best as I could. There were mostly girls here but two boys were there. The last girl to introduce herself to me was a girl named Cassi. She looked a little strange, with a braid that had a streak of neon orange, a neon pink shirt with paint splatters on it and a short mini skirt that was white. But her socks were the strangest. They were just completely random with neon colors, white dots, and circles. One was up straight while the other was falling down and scrunching up.

Cassi was the person sitting next to me at the strange table. The teacher, who's name was Ms. Riola, stood nearby and had me turn toward her.

"Please, Lovell. Call me Ren." She informed me when I started to address her. She sat down gracefully on one of the many throw pillows and I sat down next to her, a questioning look in my eyes. What was this class even about? It seemed so awkward and out of place in such an impressive education establishment.

"Lovell, this class is about accessing the depths of our minds in order to do something more with our spiritual power." She said, like she was living those words. Her eyes were closed and she seemed so far away.

"Yes, but what do we do?" I asked, watching as she cracked an eyelid open, and smiled mischievously at me.

"Give me your hands." She said, criss crossing her legs and placing her hands just beyond her knees with the palms facing up. I slipped my legs into the lotus position and placed my hands on top of hers. I watched her eyebrows knit together as soon as I touched her, like I set her off.

"Close your eyes." She ordered, and I did as told. All of a sudden, I felt all barriers break in my mind as a beautiful energy surged through me. It was like bathing in the sunlight of a winter day. Cold and blissfully warm at the same time. My mind opened up and plowed through my consciousness, lighting every nook and cranny of it with that beautiful winter sun. But then Ren gasped and pulled her hands away and everything went out like a match. My eyes snapped open and I stared at her like she was a wizard, but that was impossible.

"Sorry!" she apologized, putting her hands back in place underneath mine. But something was wrong. What had she done to open my mind like that? I pulled my hands away.

"No. Don't back down. You want to know about it, right? Then you can't be afraid." she said decisively. I eyed her carefully and then allowed my hands to move on top of hers. I closed my eyes again and the brilliant light flooded my mind again. I felt my surroundings waver and shimmer and when I opened my eyes, the room was replaced by a forest with huge trees that had vines that reached down to the ground. I was sitting on a granite slab that was perched over a small stream with gurgling crystal clear water. The winter sunlight streamed through the leaves and branches of the trees, illuminating the whole area, leaving no crevice dark. I let my legs dangle off the side of the slab like this was completely normal even though I should have been freaking out. I could feel the water running over my feet, looked down and my copper brown hair fell messily into my blue eyes eyes. White roses bloomed everywhere, and when I breathed in, the scent filled me with such purity, and I felt weightless.

But suddenly, whatever line was holding me to the real world broke and Ren's hands disappeared from my grasp. I screamed as the world around me wavered, and then with a gust of wind, it was gone.

_No! It was perfect!_

I dropped back into reality with a harsh thud and stared at Ren. She had her hands clenched against her chest and her pupils were dilated again. I just stared at her for a long time until she stopped clenching her hands and her eyes returned to normal. Then I got up. I was going to leave, it was just too weird.

"Wait, Lovell." She begged, even though every time she touched me and did that weird Psychic stuff, she got all freaked.

"If you're going to leave, will you please come see me after school?" she asked, although I knew that I didn't have a choice. "We're going to lunch now anyways." She stated, and everyone started to shuffle out of the room.

When I walked into the lunchroom, I scanned the crowd for somewhere to sit. Someone was waving at me and I realized it was Josh. I moved quickly to the table to stay anonymous and sat down next to Josh. Him and the guys from science class all huddled around the table and when I took my seat, a chorus of "Hi's," "Hey, Lovell's!" and "Hiya's!" floated in the air around me. I mumbled hi back as best I could, but I just wasn't into it. My mind was down the hall, still floating above that throw pillow and experiencing that weird illusion, dream, whatever it was. They talked about wacky teachers, too much homework, and sports they were in.

"Hey, Lovell," a guy named Donny said, "what about that Psychic teacher? She's a weirdo, right?" I looked down at the table and thought about it. Weirdo yes, but also somehow very sensible.

But, assuming they wanted to hear that she was weird, I just replied, "Yeah, she is pretty weird. Have you ever been in her classroom? It's so different and strange." That engaged them to start making theories about a bunch of teachers, what they did out of school, stuff I really don't want to mention, but it gave me an insight I guess, you know, about which teachers are bordering on insane, which are boring, blah, blah, blah. It loosened me up and let me put the weirdness aside for the moment. I was still a teenage girl who needed to socialize, have friends, and go to school. I just had a harsher past. But that was okay.

"Lovell." Josh nudged me out of my realization. "We're all goin' to the movies after school. You wanna come?"

I instantly felt my cheeks blush. "Um, I can't. Ms. Riola asked me to stay after school."

"Jeez, you already got a detention? Girl works fast." Alex said.

"Did you get a detention?" Josh asked, kid sparkle in his eyes.

"No, Ms. Riola just said she wanted me to stay after school." All the guys seemed somehow disappointed but I just shrugged it off.

"Aw, c'mon. Skip it! We're going to see that new horror movie."

_And that's better then staying for maybe thirty minutes after school?_

"Nah, I should probably just stay. See 'ya guys later." I wanted out. What if they asked me why she wanted me to stay? I didn't even know. Besides, I didn't want to make that kind of first impression on her. I said bye and then headed back towards the classroom really early.

I peered through the little window of the classroom door, to see that the room was dark but Ren was sitting with a lit candle in her hands. I was about to knock but I guessed that would mess up her "zen" or whatever. I opened the door as quietly as possible, tip-toed inside, and gently set my backpack down on the floor.

"Lovell?" she asked, her eyes perfectly closed.

_Weird much?_

"Yeah." I confirmed, and walked quietly towards her.

"Grab a candle from the shelf and join me." She ordered, and with one slender finger, pointed towards a shelf. I walked and got one but she quickly said, "Light it."

I fumbled in the darkness for a lighter but came up with only a couple of purple matches. I struck one on the side of my shoe and brought it to the wick of the candle. It flared almost instantly, blinding me for a moment before it took on the gentle light of a candle.

I carried the candle carefully with two hands and sat down near Ren. Before I could ask what I was supposed to do, she spoke up.

"Close your eyes. And let the warmth of the candle flow through you."

I did as told and let the flame's warmth that was beating against my face spread through the rest of my body.

"Now, force the warmth into the deepest part of your mind and bring the light there."

I felt the warmth delving into my mind, bringing the light of the candle with it. I felt it go past my memories, my conscience, my insecurities. It went past everything until surrounding me was just black. In this void, I heard Ren's soothing voice.

"Break through the darkness." The words were almost visible in the air, and I realized they _were_ in the air around me, shimmering in and out of sight.

_Break through the darkness?_ I spread my arms wide and my fingers brushed against the black-icky-whatever-it-is. It felt like cool water, smooth and soft under my force.

_Break through._

I pressed into the darkness until it started becoming hardened and unmovable. Then, with all my physical and mental force, I pushed violently against the watery film of black.

As soon as I attacked, the darkness burst and winter sunlight streamed into my vision. But it didn't hurt my eyes; it was cool and bright, but not painful. I was in the same wonderland as before, when Ren had put her hands on top of mine. The white roses, the big, gorgeous trees, the crystal clear stream, the granite slab. But this time, I was more aware. But I still wasn't freaking out. Everything calmed me.

I reached out and cupped one of the beautiful roses. The creamy softness of the petals were fantasy-like. The long and elegant stem was gave the flower that regal and dignified look. I plucked it from the ground, held it to my nose, and breathed in. The scent was so pure and amazing, it soothed me even more.

I stood up on the slab and was surprised to see that my shoes were gone. I took an inventory of myself, and was shocked at what I found. My hair was loose, the coppery strands catching the winter sunlight and giving off a rainbow glow. My safe black T-shirt and stone washed jeans had been replaced by a gossamer dress that had layers of thin cloth over lapping that reached half way down my thigh. It was light green and pure white, laying on top of each other in a beautiful pattern. Leather bracelets hung on my hands and a necklace with a crystallized rose petal laid underneath my collar bone.

_Cool._

I stepped gracefully off the granite slab and into the meadow of flowers. This view was too beautiful to feel anything but awe. The winter light lit everything and the air above the flowers was glowing from the light hitting fog. I walked to the edge of the meadow and grasped the long vine of one of the trees, then hoisted myself up off the ground. It was amazing. I practically floated up, then landed without a sound on the ancient branch. I wondered why I had gotten up so easily and some of the fog in the air accumulated in front of me, until there was enough to form water. In the reflection of the floating water, I could see myself. Something was different. My eyes were brighter, my hair was longer and more rugged, my skin was flawless and pale, but there was something even stranger.

From my shoulder blades had sprouted mystical wings. They were like bat wings, but silver. Again, I wasn't shocked. I just fluttered up to the highest branch and landed lightly on it, my heels staying in the air while I balanced only on my toes. Then I looked out at the view that stretched across the horizon.

It was breathtaking. The trees seemed to go on forever and in the distance, mountains peeked above the fertile forest. Then, with no fear, with no doubt, I jumped from the top of that tree and I instantly felt my wings catch the wind. I floated and beat my wings, thrusting air at will. Then I angled down and hovered above the ground for a moment and then let my toes brush against the ground landed, heading back to the granite slab. Then, it all whirled and blew around me, and disappeared.


	4. Chapter 4

Inside and Out

I opened my eyes and Ren was leaning over my candle, cheeks puffed up. My candle's wick sent a spiral of smoke up into the air. I met her eyes, dilated again. She grabbed my candle and took it back to the shelf, then she grabbed my shoulders and shook me, getting rid of any of the left over awe from my trip to that place. Kids started walking in and Cassi, the girl with the weird socks, came and sat down next to me. She leaned close to my ear and whispered, "Did she show you anything?"

_A freakish world where I had wings? No, of course not. Nothing._

"What?" I said, playing dumb. She shook her head as in "never mind." I tried to shake those images from my mind, where nothing could bother me, nothing could hurt me. But they stuck to my soul and wouldn't leave. For the next half hour, we meditated. We were supposed to have clear minds, but I kept on conjuring images of that place. And that Winter Sunlight.

My next period had been Language Arts, and then I went to my last period, chemistry.

I handed the teacher, Mr. Folkay, my schedule and scanned the room. There were the same blacktop tables as science, set in perfect rows, with test tubes and small beakers filled with different substances. When Mr. Folkay was finished, he simply said, "Wait and see which seats are empty."

I stayed at the front of the room and waited for everybody else to come inside. There was only one seat left, all the way in the back, next to a guy so, I walked quickly down the isle, avoiding eye contact by focusing on my shoes that were there now. Then I quickly took my seat next to the guy and really looked at him.

He had pitch black hair and even blacker eyes. His hair was ragged, obviously cut with a razor, and his face was sculpted out of ivory in sharp, handsome angles.

He also, apparently, was the one most of the girls wanted since they all either made goo-goo eyes at him or threw daggers at me. And despite my recent attitude of coldness, sadness, etc., I found myself attracted to him, not because of his stunning looks but because of the coldness radiating of him and the sharp look in his eyes. But I shoved my impulses aside and stared straight ahead as Mr. Folkay walked briskly down the isles, explaining what we were supposed today.

"You'll work with your partner, the person next to you, to list the reactions of the substances in the beakers. Use this worksheet to follow directions." He held his prized worksheets high in the air, then walked around the room, smacking them onto the desks, placing the last one on our's. "Well? Work!"

The guy pulled out a pencil, and before righting his own name, he asked, "What's your name?"

His voice sounded so chillingly cold and sharp, sending shivers through my body that felt seductive, even though it was just a three word sentence.

"It's, uh, Lovell Demonte." I answered, trying to shake off the chills just his voice gave me. He jotted down my name and then wrote his name right underneath.

_Daren Durantelo. _

He easily started to handle the formulas, glancing between the paper and the test tubes, as he poured the mystery liquids (at least a mystery to me) into the test tubes precisely, never missing a drop. Since my hands probably would have shaken too much to even get the first mixture made, I offered to right down the observations.

"Sure." He murmured, and then, as he moved his hand to pour the mixture, which was a small amount of PH, and I moved to start writing, my hand brushed along his skin, and instantly, my conscience crumbled and I fell into the feeling of his touch. It sent painfully cold waves through out my body and since my body didn't move from its position, the waves kept coming as my skin froze and goose bumps flourished on my arms from his icy temperature.

But suddenly, the view of my hand positioned against the paper, armed and ready to record, disappeared from my view and I realized I was so stunned that my body had gone rigid. Then, the one small spot where the coldness was entering turned into a bunch of large spots, as Daren caught me in my fall, supporting me with his body, having already gotten out of his chair and spread his arms to catch me. I almost screamed out loud from the ice coursing through me veins, but his touch was also so soothingly familiar somehow, which was just enough to help me bite my tongue and lock my throat.

"You okay?" he asked, his voice still cold but with some form of recognition and a hint of kindness locked in his eyes. All the same, I scrambled out of his touch and tugged my sweater's rolled up sleeves all the way down my arms.

"Yeah." I responded, a little late, I suppose. A couple of girls who'd been watching him were giggling, pleased to see that the new girl had been put in her place. Instead of blushing and looking like the foolish girl I probably was, I picked up my pencil and placed it back on the paper, like I was completely ready to record any data, even though I could barely think straight. He studied me only for a moment and before I could verify it, a look something like mischief and maybe happiness flashed across his face. It was brief, but it was definitely there.

After that, we worked mostly in silence, me scribbling down information and observations as he worked with the materials. And I thought we were basically done talking once he had looked over the sheet and verified it until he inquired, "Why did you move here?"

I was about to tell him the same lie I'd told josh first period until I looked up and saw some recognition in his eyes, and somewhere in my brain, I thought, _Like to Like_.

"Uh, I'm an orphan." I said, unable to lie. He looked away, out the big open window, where dark clouds loomed over the land, refusing to rain from the coldness. I watched the leaves on a tree sway, fluttering back and forth in the rough wind.

"Me too." The leaves slowed down, the wind seemed soft, and I couldn't move my eyes from the leaf that was torn away and being shoved away with the breeze. I closed my eyes and repeatedly kicked myself, trying to move, trying to get some response out of my body besides the soul deep connection I had for him now.

The bell rang, saving me and thawing me out. I opened my eyes and he was still looking out the window, not reaching for his back pack, not eager to go. Suddenly, I felt okay with really approaching him, with asking _him_ the question.

"Are your parents gone?" I asked, without my voice shaking or cracking, knowing that he knew what I meant. We sat there for a while, as everyone else filed out.

"Yeah, you can say that." He said and finally moved, grasping his back pack and standing up and walking out of the room, leaving me to myself.

"So, Lovell?" Josh sneaked up on me and I whirled around, almost smacking him with my flying arms. "Whoa! Jeez, if 'ya don't like me, just say something." He smiled and slung an arm around me as a clutched my chest and glared, trying to get my heart to slow down.

"Are you still gonna stay with Ms. Wacky-What's-Her-Name?" he asked, still trying to get me to go to the horror movie.

"Yeah." I stated, ducking out of his arm. "I told you, I don't need a ditcher's reputation on my first day here."

"You did?" he asked, his face scrunching up in confusion. No, I hadn't. Thoughts, imagination, reality, and conversations were hard to sort today, with a new school, new people, and all the weird stuff, too.

"No, I thought about it though." I confirmed, as he let he shook his head and said, "Your pretty strange, New Girl." His eyes were smiling a lot and it made me feel like he was my best friend right now, in all my craziness and in my harsh attitude towards him.

"By the way, is that guy Daren really, I don't know, what the girls think he his?" he said, averting his gaze down to his shoes, obviously jealous.

_In my book? He's a uniquely cold and cool … and like me._

"I wouldn't know. I'm not like the rest of the girls. He didn't talk much anyways." I said, trying to give him my best reassuring smile, hoping that it didn't look as fake as it felt. He smiled back at me, believing every word as if he hung on them.

"Krozer! Er," Mr. Folkay flipped through his seating chart, ready to fire out my last name. "Demonte! You two need to get out of here, now." He barked, flustered from not knowing the New Girl's name.  
"Your last name is Krozer?" I asked.

"Yours is Demonte?" He said, smirking at me as mentally kicked myself. Of course that was his last name - we were the only two in the room. We hurried out of the room, and into the hall, where kids slammed into each other, ready to just go home and watch TV, saving homework for ten o'clock.

"So, you really are gonna stay? You sure?" he asked as we sauntered down the hall at a slower pace, and people bumped past.

I turned sharply on my heel, stared him down, and said, "Yes, I am very sure; a hundred twenty percent sure. I am not skipping out on her."

He smiled and shrugged.

"Then I guess I'll see 'ya tomorrow, New Girl." He smiled, walked towards the stairs, and made his way down as I watched him disappear with the rest of the crowd. Hmm. New Girl. I was liking it more and more.

I walked down the hall, deciding to go down the back stairs instead.

I took the steps two at a time and walked back to Psychics 101. I peered into the little window on the door again and Ren was hustling about the room, fixing this, tweaking that, and putting throw pillows in one corner. I twisted the door handle and stepped inside.

"Ah, Lovell. I'm glad you came." She chimed, wiping her hands on her jeans.

"Hi, um, again."

She threw one last throw pillow into the corner and then sat directly on a purple mat, then motioned towards a mat across from her.

"So, did you find class interesting?"

"Only the parts where we used the candles and stuff." I stated, feeling stupid, saying stuff.

She laughed and walked over to a shelf lined with books. She pulled a couple out and brought them over back to the mat. There were lots of colored ones but one of them was all black. She pulled a thinner one out and handed it to me.

"You had flowers in your land, right?" she asked, eyeing me.

_Yeah, those white roses._ I nodded and looked at her expectantly, hoping she'd explain.

"That book tells you what different flowers mean. Flowers are very symbolic in Psychics, magick, you know." She explained.

I thumbed through the book, until I found a page with a white rose like the one I'd seen in the field.

WHITE ROSE: Purity

"This one. It was everywhere." I handed the book to her and she scanned it over.

"It's incredible. I've never met anyone with the white rose." She said.

"Well how would you know? They may not all know what their flower is." I indicated.

"Well, anyone I asked." She defended. "Now, do you know anything about Psychics?"

I nodded my head no and she handed me another book.

"This is some of the fundamentals; look though it." She smirked and then got up.

I opened the book and was stunned to see the pages dyed purple and smelling like lilacs and jasmine. I flipped the pages back and forth, picking up little tid-bits of info.

There were all sorts of Psychic areas, from Indian, to Eastern Orthodox, to the Magical Kingdom realm.

Somehow, instinctively, I knew that what I had been experiencing didn't belong to any of the ones in the book. It was something unknown that followed a bunch of different traditions from other areas.

"Lovell." I looked up at the sound of her voice and watched her flip the lights off and bring two candles and some matches. "I knew you had powerful Psychic abilities. I could tell just by being in the same room as you." She sat down on her mat and handed me a match and a candle. This time, the candle was purple and smelled like a bunch of different flowers. I struck my match on my shoe again and lit the wick feeling the warmth against my skin. "You're psychic presence is incredible."

"What do you mean?" I asked, feeling my face harden into my mask that never let anything show, especially when I got freaked.

"What I mean is that you have a strong essence, so strong that I can tell just by being near you. And when I came into contact with you, I almost couldn't handle it."

"How can you - " I began, but she cut me off.

"I've been honing my Psychic skills for a long time now and I can sense most people's Psychic force, unless they have very low mental strength." She explained.

"So, Psychics… they really exist?"

"Of course!" she exclaimed, and lit her own candle.

"So, how did you get me to that place?" I asked, and held my candle in two hands.

She shook her head and smiled. "I didn't. You did. I just instructed you."

"Then what's the point of the candle?" I inquired.

"It's a beacon that helps you focus your energy rather then doing it on your own. It also lets you channel all the elements of the Indian Psychic area." She said, closing her eyes. "You can get to your mind's place just by following the path I told you about yesterday." She went silent and didn't say anything else, so I closed my eyes too and started to reach into my mind.

I imagined the light from the candle illuminating the dark depths of my mind, going farther and farther until I couldn't see any memories or thoughts in the air around me. Then, as I landed in the blackness, I forced my power out towards the flimsy watery film and it expanded and exploded. My landing wasn't as smooth and it plopped me down hard on the granite slab. Suddenly, I was wondering why exactly, I'd come here. I mean, all I knew was that it was pretty. Anything else? Nope.

"Lovell?" Ren's voice floated through the air and when I looked down to study the water in the stream, my name was clearly printed into the water and then it floated away with the current.

"I can hear you." I stated.

"Good. Where ever you are, you can manifest anything you want and ask anything you think you knew but forgot." I smiled instantly, thinking I could study anything I ever learned, for final exams and stuff. But then, the thought of manifestation entered my mind, and my pulse started racing.

_Anything? Anything?_

I shouldn't have done it. I should have made something else. But I didn't.

_My family! I want them back!_ My mind screamed, and right there in front of me, they started to materialize until they were complete. I could feel tears running steadily down my cheeks as they smiled and my dad held his arms out in front of him, ready for me to jump into his arms like when I was seven and he came home from work late, when I was supposed to be in bed but I stayed up anyways, waiting for him and although I should have gotten in trouble, my dad always smiled and tucked me in, hugging me good night. Oh, my inner babbling memories.

I ran to them and wrapped my arms around all of them, reaching to wrap my arm around my brother's high-up shoulder. I cried until I realized they weren't safely in my arms any more. I whirled around, my eyes darting everywhere, the tears and sobs becoming harsher and unhappier. I fell to the ground among the white roses, as one's satin petal brushed against my cheek, wiping a tear away like a best friend. I felt the wind across the field bring colder currents and the sunlight dimmed and dimmed until my whole inner world was cold and dark and dangerously elegant with its endearing white roses.

I wanted a hug. But I had no one in either of my worlds that I could really hug. It was a horrible and saddening fact that broke me.

I tumbled to the ground and watched as night time surrounded me even though it was really only three o'clock. I laid there, in what I realized was the same dress I had worn earlier. Wind raced across the field, knocked a petal off one of the flowers, and it fluttered through the air to rest on my cheek. Suddenly, thousands of petals left their flowers and glided through the air like doves. My loneliness intensified and, reluctantly, the petal on my cheek flew away with the rest of the petal doves.

But, as I realized I didn't want to be alone, as I realized that I had someone I could hug now, I breathed and blew out my candle and forced myself out of this world.

"Lovell, are you okay?" Ren asked, obviously noting the devastated look on my face. I nodded yes and just grabbed my bag and got out of there. I called Jason on my cell and raced outside of the school.

"Lovell? Need a pick-up now?" I savored the sound of his big brother voice.

"Yeah. Um, as soon as you can." I said, unable to disguise the sadness in my voice. But he didn't ask questions.

"Sure."

"Thanks." I said and hung up. I sat down on the curb of the car pool lane where a couple of kids still loitered about, and wiped tears from my face, as they refused to stop no matter how many deep breaths I took.

Ten minutes later, Jason pulled up in his black pick up, slammed the door shut, and walked around the front but before he could make it half way around, I'd run up and jumped into his arms, bawling and hugging him. I smiled and felt so happy in his arms, so happy that there was someone I could hug when I was sad. I looked up and he was smiling, his eyes lit up, his smile so bright. I let go and wiped up my face, using my sweater sleeve as a tissue.

"Um, I kinda needed a hug." I explained, although I'm sure he didn't mind. The cold winter winds whipped across the almost empty parking lot and I gratefully clambered into the warm cab of the truck.

"So, what did you think of the Psychic program?" he asked, peering out of the corner of his eye to see my reaction.

I shrugged as I wiped away more tears and said, "It was a lot different then what I thought it would be." That much was true.


	5. Chapter 5

Realization or Actualization?

I walked along a long stepping stone path, holding my book in my hand as I let it swing, back and forth, back and forth. I hopped from each stone to the next, landing gracefully on each one, traveling along the side of the house until I reached the back. The big outdoor-sy area stretched out over four acres, with a Jacuzzi, the pond, a bunch of trees, and also a lot of flowers nestled underneath the wild grown grass. My feet met the soft ground and the nice earthy smell soothed my frazzled nerves.

Neela, a spotted, or maybe dappled horse, grazed peacefully on the grass that had grown up to my knees. She'd been a surprise for me from Jason. The day he'd heard he was coming he'd bought her. Not just because I was coming, but also because Jason had had his eye on her for a long time at a rescues shelter for all animals. And I thought that was sweet. And Neela's sweet, too.

My too-big sweat pants that I'd changed into dragged along the ground and my sweatshirt protected me from the cold air. I walked towards Neela and brushed my hand along her neck, smiling as she threw her head up and whinnied happily. She nuzzled my shoulder, her twitching nose tickling me, causing me to laugh. I hugged her and kissed her big cheek, looking at her big brown eyes. Then I bopped her nose and skipped around her towards the clear pond.

I sat down on a wooden bench near the water and kicked of my shoes. I watched as the wind made the grass sway and the water turn. Neela trotted over and lapped up a little bit of water and then put her head right in front of my face, and when I put my hand out, she flipped her head up and got me. I giggled, knowing that was her way of playing since she was still young.

"Lovell!" I turned to see Jason walking towards me. He came and sat down next to me, the house's warmth radiating off of him. Neela snorted in my face and then moved on to Jason, clearly showing that she was like a big puppy dog. The other day Jason had called her name out of the open window in the kitchen and she trotted up, all happy right to the window and fit her head inside.

"Ha! Your such a girl." He said, patting her neck and ruffling her mane. I couldn't help but wonder what this scene looked like to an outsider. Probably a little weird but heartwarming. He placed a hand on my leg and squeezed, making me double over in ticklish-ness. "How about we go in and have some dinner, hm?"

"Yeah! Okay!" I shrieked, as he started to tickle me all over, running me inside the house as Neela whinnied behind us, trotting to the kitchen to meet us. I burst into the house and ran into the kitchen but he quickly caught me and picked me up, throwing me over his shoulder.

"Well, lets see what we have to eat besides little girl stew." he said, but it was pretty crummy. I wriggled out of his grasp and slid down his back to the floor. He swung open the fridge and looked over it. I peeked around him and saw some styrofoam containers, some fruits in the bottom drawer, juice, and a bunch of stuff in the side door.

"Can we order Chinese take out?" I asked, realizing I was craving it.

"Sure. Actually that sounds really good." He agreed and walked over to call the restaurant.

"I'll have pork fried rice!" I said, as I jogged up the stairs. "I'm gonna take a shower."

I heated up the shower, undressed, and got in. It felt really good to just let it wash over me, to just be able to relax and feel my muscles loosen. I got out in a little while and tugged a towel around me; toweled my hair. I changed into PJ's and fell back on my bed. I have to say, I was impressed with the selection of PJ's. They were very me. Other girls wear matching PJ's and stuff but I'd found my type of sleepwear in the closet. Big, comfy shirts, cozy, fluffy pants, and comfortable shorts.

I rolled over on my bed and grabbed my book. I turned it over once, twice, three times. I like books. They're just so incredible. But at that moment, the doorbell rang. I rolled smoothly off the bed and skipped towards the stairs as I slid down the railing, stumbled off the end of it and joined Jason as he opened the door right when the guy handed him a cardboard case with lots of food inside containers. I took it from Jason and carried it to the kitchen as Jason paid the delivery guy. I grabbed the cute little take out box, ya know, the ones that are all folded up with the little "Thank You!" printed on the side and have the metal handle. Then I pulled a drawer open and grabbed a fork, then bumped it closed with my hip.

Jason and I ate at the island in the kitchen while watching some show on this mini TV that flipped out from under a cabinet. Cool.

"Lovell, you finish your homework?" Jason asked.

"Yup! Finished it before I went outside." I grinned and threw away the takeout container, having finished it all. I leaned against the sink and Neela, with her head in the window, flipped my hair up. I turned and patted her cheek, then headed back to my room. I stopped halfway up the stairs and looked out a window.

The moon's milky light lit the meadow, turned the pond into a mirror, and made everything sliver and white. It was eerily pretty. I moved up the stairs slowly, my eyes lingering on the landscape.

Was I supposed to remember something about it?

When I finally reached my room, I tumbled onto the bed and flipped the TV on… that must've been when I fell asleep.

"LOVELL! Time to get up!" Jason yelled. I got ready quickly, pulling on a black sweater and jeans with boots. With my backpack slung over my shoulder, I ran outside and jumped into the cab of the truck before the cold could get to me. Everyone at school was running to the building as soon as they arrived, hurrying to escape the cold. Before I knew it, Josh and a couple other guys were running alongside me.

"Hey, New Girl. You look cozy." He said, grinning as we entered through the big doors. "C'mon lets just go to first class."

We walked into the cozy room and sat down. I could not help but notice when Daren walked in the room and took a seat all the way in the back with no partner. Must've missed him yesterday.

"So, what did the Psychic teacher do to you yesterday? Explore the depths of your mind?" he said, moving his hands around dramatically.

"Um, not much. And nothing _that _weird." Of course, that was lie. It was _weirder_.

After the bell rang, things went in a blur, mainly because I was being forced to try and catch up with the semester's course. Psychic class came, but it was reading out of the Psychic book. Come lunch time, I was wiped out, which was gonna suck later since I still had two more classes ahead of me.

I walked into the lunchroom and people quickly dispersed, eager to get into their designated groups. I walked over to Josh and Donny, who were already seated at the same table. A girl was sitting there too, across from the boys, leaning over the table and engaging them in conversation. I sat down next to her, and she turned and smiled friendly.

"Hey, New Girl!" she said, with an enthusiasm that was really warm and welcoming. "As of today, you shall know me as Matty!" she said, grinning and looking like she would sling an arm over my shoulder. She was actually kinda pretty, with white blonde hair that was reaching just past her shoulders, coupled with dark, dark green eyes. She had some of the fairest skin I'd ever seen, you know, like really white but never tanned or burned. She was actually _really_ pretty.

I reached out and shook her warm hand and stated, "Well, then you shall know me as Lovell." She giggled and said, mainly to the guys, "I like her already."

And really, I already liked her, too. She had such a nice atmosphere and I realized that I hadn't seen her around school. Not once.

"Hey, were you even here yesterday?" I asked.

"Nope. I ditched yesterday. Had a killer headache." She just smiled, though. "Did you start here yesterdays?" she said, sticking the twiggy straw from those cheap utensil packets courtesy of the school lunch into her mouth and chewing on it.

"Yeah. I met these guys yesterday, too." I said, motioning towards Donny and Josh and Alex, who'd just sat down. I shrugged and said, "I guess they're pretty cool." Then threw them a side smile.

"Hey, be careful you could always be rejected." Alex chimed.

"Yeahhhh, they'res okay." May agreed, nodding her head, and trying to speak around the straw.

"Matty is actually in all of your classes except math and Psychics." Josh informed me.

"But I didn't see you in science." I stated, peering out at her from the corner of my eye.

"My bus was in's breakdowwwn." Matty said, rolling her eyes. "There'sss alllways somesing wrong wis the damned ssing." She paused and pulled out the straw. "But, so, you really have Psychics 101?" she said, her eyes lighting up.

"Yeah, it's so weird though. The teacher is, like, a _real_ Psychic. As in senses-your-feelings-and-your-presence-real."

"Oh, coo-l! I love all that Psychic mumbo-jumbo stuff. It's awesome." She nodded. "And real!" she tacked on at the end. She picked around her cardboard plus yellow paint macaroni from the school lunch before poking it away with her chewed up straw.

"It wasn't much better at my old school." I stated, glad I'd brought my own lunch. PBJ, chips, drink. Nothing can go wrong. I bit into the PBJ sandwich. "Whoever created PBJs is a genius."

"I concur. The PB is too dry and thick alone, while the J is too sweet. But someone thought to put them together and it's amazing." Matty agreed, as she plucked a chip from my lunch. I didn't mind. I wasn't hungry anyways. "So? Anyone here going to the Snow Ball? Which is a really stupid name when you think about it, I mean it doesn-"

"Sorry to interject, but what's the 'Snow Ball'" I asked, completely lost.

"It's the same thing as a Winter Dance but the PTA just _had_ to have a cute name for it." Said a guy named Cory, who by the way, was gay. But a nice gay. Not that ones that messed up their voice and wore different clothes. Just gay. And that was fine with everyone. He sat down next to me and smiled. "And now, Matty, you may resume."

"As I was saying, it's a stupid name cause it never snows in Florida anyways, so I mean, what's the point?"

"They think we like it when we really can't stand much more of it." Josh said, nodding his disapproval. I laughed and let my eyes wander, all around the room, up and down, side to side.

"Well, anyone going?" Matty asked, not letting her question go.

"I'm gonna go!" Cory rang in, smiling. "It's always kinda cool." Donny, on the other hand, didn't seem so hot with the idea. In fact, he just up and walked away.

"Whoa. What's he doing?" I asked.

"Homophobia." Josh said, sending nasty glares after Donny. "He hates being around Cory."

I watched as Donny shoved himself among his other friends as they laughed and welcomed him as part of their macho façade. I turned to look at Cory. He was tearing up a little and blinked more then usual.

"Hey, if he doesn't like you, he doesn't like you. But we're your friends no matter what, mkay?" I said, slinging my arms around him in a hug. He only let one tear slip out before regaining control.

"Right. I just don't see it coming sometimes, that's all." He whimpered, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand.

"Be right back." Matty pushed herself up and away from the table, then stalked over to Donny.

"Oh jeez." Alex warned, ducking under the cover of his arms. "Things are gonna get messy."

The whole table of boys turned to stare at her but she didn't falter. Didn't even flinch. She placed her hands flat down on the table, shoving boys and lunches to the side, facing Donny fearlessly. She started talking and eyes widened, brows furrowed, and Donny just looked completely shaken. She ended her speech and walked back to our table. She patted Cory's head and sat down, plucking another chip from my bag.

"What did you _say_?" Cory asked, looking across me at her.

"Oh, nothing. But he won't be saying anything more to you." She smiled and brushed a bleach blonde strand behind her ear.

"You rock, Matty." He said and Josh nodded.

The bell rang and we gathered out stuff. Matty surprised me by sneaking up and hugging me.

"I'll see ya in L.A., New Girl!" She cheered before sprinting off towards whatever class she had now.

I smiled and turned to go back to Psychics. Things were getting better everyday here.

"Hey, Matty." I said when I walked into L.A. and saw her sitting in a seat that was a couple rows in front of me. She smiled and hugged me as I walked past to get to my seat. Again, I realized that I must've missed Daren yesterday because he was sitting in the spot behind me. He looked at me sharply but I could see something below the surface of his onyx eyes. Still, when I sat down, the tiny hairs on the back of my neck stood on end, reminding me of how cold he was yesterday. Our lesson today was on grammar. The stuff that doesn't seem to be English. Yippee. But, luckily, the class went by fast, only because I kept wandering in the coldness that was radiating from Daren behind me.

The bell rang and I walked to my last period, chemistry, which meant more Daren. I reached the door at the same time as him and he opened the door for me, only glancing at me while I walked in. I walked quickly back to the last row and got in my seat as Daren walked a speed slower then me. I felt my whole body prickle and shiver when he took his seat next to me.

"Hey, do you need help catching up with science?" He asked, shocking me and yet making me kinda happy. Because I did need help. A lot.

"Well, um, yeah. A couple things." I replied, scrolling through the list in my head. Agendas weren't my thing. I'd either write it on my hands or have it filed in my brain, but agendas were a waste of time for me. So, yeah, I'd done some of the wrong work before but, oh well.

I told him what I needed help on and he tried to explain it all to me. The bell rang, though, and Mr. Folkay called the class to order.

"More partner work." He said, getting smiles out of most of the kids. "In your textbook, page four hundred thirty-two, you'll both answer the questions after _reading_ the _chapter_. No copying, but helping each other is allowed. NO COPYING." He said once more before he turned to his computer and became completely oblivious.

"So, what else do you need help on?" he said, pretend opening the book just in case Mr. Teacherman looked up. He continued to tell me what was what, not looking at notes or the book, but flawlessly saying them in a way that was super easy to understand. Every now and then, his hand would come close to touching my hand but I would quickly pull away before he could make contact. He frowned a little each time I pulled away but I pretended to ignore it, even though it made me feel seriously bad.

"Wow, you must be a fantastic student." I said, astonished that he knew so much about everything I'd missed in the quarter.

"Yeah, lots of time to think about stuff."

I tried to commit everything to memory like he obviously did flawlessly. I knew I was going to ask him about everything at least another five times. But we worked on the actual work after that and whenever I had no clue what something was, even though I'd read the chapter, he'd explain it to me in plain English and I got it like _that._ I don't know why, I just knew that he made everything a lot easier to understand, even though anyone else would have explained it the same way.

_Freezing cold and enables me to understand _chemistry._ Maybe he is something different._

The bell rang too soon; I had tons more questions.

"So, are you okay?" he asked, pulling his backpack over his shoulder.

"Definitely not. But you explained a lot. It, uh, really helped." I said, feeling dumb and stupid. You don't tell a guy like him when you don't get something, you just don't. But I looked up to see him smiling at me. This guy should smile more often, it's gorgeous.

"Any time, Lovell." He said and brushed by me.

_He said my name?_ I realized that he'd never called me by me real name before. Nor had he really even addressed me besides 'you.' But the way he said my name, the way he let it float in the air. The way it sounded coming from him made my heart swirl uncontrollably. I wanted him to come back and say it again, just for me.

_Oh my god!_ My mind screamed and I realized that little recognition of him saying my name had me tumbling in love with him. I'd like to say falling, you know, because it's more elegant, but it was more of a tumble. I didn't know anything about him, just his name and the attitude he put on at school. But still, something inside me cracked and it yearned to make me remember something. And I knew what it was. It was the feeling of similarity I had for him. It was from when I was five. My parents were thanking him for bringing me back to them because apparently I'd wondered out into the forest surrounding the house we had at the time.

There was just one bone chilling, heart wrenching problem: He was as old as he is now in that memory.

As soon as Jason had me securely at home, nobody else besides Neela and the wildlife around, I took the stairs three at a time and sped into my room to my computer, and opened a browser.

I searched the three anomalies that I'd seen in Daren. Coldness, infinite knowledge, and ageless. Something still nagged at me from the back of my mind, begging me to remember when I was simply incapable.

Results popped up some concerning my topic and others talking about air conditioning. I clicked a link that opened up a long list of fantasy creatures in their most basic, none stereotypical form. None of them really had everything I was searching except one single one.

_Vampires: Having most of their reputation from bats, it is actually known that the legend of the vampire existed before the Vampire Bats were discovered on an expedition to an unknown land. The Vampire is a creature whom is dead, but maintains body and soul by absorbing nutrients and energy through blood. Because they cannot make their own stock of blood they are cold to the touch. They also do not age, nor die, due to the fact that they are simply maintaining a bodily form. In the rawest legend, the only way a Vampire can be killed is by a direct spiritual attack to the heart, which is a flowing center of their energy and blood. Many older Vampires are extremely wise and knowledgeable. The oldest claimed Vampire dates back before the time of Aristotle, which is most likely around the time when Vampires started to be created. A famous document that is believed by many to be a real Vampiric experience turned into a fictional story is Dracula. _

I turned the monitor off and shoved away from the desk, quaking. Because I knew that was right. I knew that was what he was. Not because I believed it, but because that nagging thing in the back of my mind told me so.


	6. Chapter 6

Remembering and My Messed Up Dreams

Before I could really stop myself, I was running down the hallway but before I got to Jason's room I checked myself, breathing in deep and then exhaling. My hands stopped shaking and I had the feeling that my face looked neutral.

"Hey, Jason, do we have any candles?" I asked, poking my head through his door way.

"Yeah, why? Did you burn something nasty?" He asked.

"Uh, yeah. Where are they?" He told me they were in the cabinet under the sink in the guest bathroom. Strange place, but, okay. I practically sprinted to the bathroom, then swung open the cabinets and fished around for candles. He only had a couple different types and in the end I decided to go with a longer one that there was only one of that had no decorations or anything. I hurried back to my room after grabbing a pack of strike-on matches. I turned off all the lights in my room then sat in the lotus position on the floor. I lit the candle and started to head back to my own inner world.

I landed gently on the stone and instantly thought _That day when the teen brought me back to my parents, what really happened?_ The world warped and changed until I was back in the dense forest around my house at the time. It had been winter and snow was falling around me.

My memory started slowly to come back. Figures started to dart between the trees, lurking and evil. My adrenaline spiked uncontrollably and my pulse sped. The things sped up, too. What was I so freaked about? Was I literally reliving what was going on? But before my memory could complete itself, the scene moved faster then my mind. The things surrounded me and I suppose because my memory didn't remember what the things were yet, they were just black. They surrounded me and I could hear myself cry out, "Don't kill me!"

The voice was far too young and innocent to be mine but it was. I looked down and saw pretty clothes, but they were out dated by about a hundred years. My hood fell into my eyes and I shoved it away, needing to see everything that was happening. But since I was following the role of my little self, I stumbled back in fear and landed in a deep snow bank and the powdery snow erupted into the air around me. Through my own mini blizzard and the falling snow I could see the thing (at least the main one that seemed most threatening) lurching towards me. My memory was fast enough to fill the eyes of it in with glowing red before it lunged at me, and I distinctly remembered the fangs that flashed because of the moon's silver light. I covered my head with my hands and hunkered down, not wanting to die. But, peering between the cracks amid my arms, I saw someone wearing a black trench coat with pitch black hair drive something long and sharp through the thing's chest. I still didn't see the thing's body but it didn't matter because at that moment, I could only see one thing.

The blood. It poured out of the heart and flew through the air, tainting the pure white snow and glazing the hanging icicles in red. The person who killed it quickly destroyed the other two - those were the only ones left. I was not only shaking from the cold but also because I was having an absolutely insane panic attack. My heart wouldn't slow down and my body wouldn't unfold from the fetal position it had taken up in the snow. The person turned and I knew who I was seeing.

It was Daren, tall and cold, his eyes containing the same severe sharpness. He held a long silver blade in his hand that glinted from the white light that bathed the forest. The blade had a sort of magical fee about it. It was bright white with the edge in the middle of it forming a line that ran down the whole metal piece.

His eyes softened and he walked briskly over to me, kneeled down to my height and smiled, but his face was still worried. But more then that, I noticed how fangs shined bright and white in his teeth.

"Are you harmed, Lady Lovell?" He asked, saying my name, which made me feel even better then when he'd said it at school.

I had bruises and scrapes, but nothing that would threaten me, really.

"No, my warrior." The words shocked me. They came from my mouth, loud and clear, but what the heck was I talking about? I had only meant to nod my head, but instead, my voice rang out of my throat. Which didn't really make a whole lot of sense because it didn't even feel like I could breathe. He held a gloved hand out to me, and without my thinking, my young, tiny, pale hand reached out and wrapped around it.

_Whoa, why aren't I wearing any gloves? It's freakin' freezing!_ But I wasn't cold at all, despite the snow and obviously low temperatures. Then I felt myself close my eyes and be picked up by Daren as he carried me back to my parents in his strong arms. It felt so good to be held by him and I opened my eyes and snuggled further into his chest, some of the cold getting to me. He smiled down at me and I could see some warmth in his eyes that I hadn't been able to see before. Even though he was seventeen, he was so grown up and mature-looking and I liked that a lot.

I closed my eyes again and when I woke up, I was no longer in his arms or the moonlit forest. I was back on that familiar granite slab, laying down with my cheek resting against the smooth surface. I had more questions but before I could think about them, a splotch of yellow in my all white field of roses caught my eye. It was out in the center of the big space and I found myself lured to it, walking around flower and stem to get to it. Then I kneeled down and wrapped one hand around its delicate stem and tugged a little, breaking it loose from the ground instantly. I held it in my hand and realized it was a yellow tulip, amid my pure white roses. I held it close to me until, suddenly, my fingers were being singed, from I don't know what, but it tore me from my inner world with its pain.

I snapped my eyes open and dropped the shortened candle as the wax dripped down the side. It had melted and slid down the side to burn my fingers that now were still clasping the yellow tulip.

_But…That was in that world…the tulip came with me?_ I walked over to my computer again, and this time I shut it down, knowing that all the proof I needed was in my head.

"Lovell, don't stay up too late." Jason said, popping his head into my room.

"'Kay." I said, needing him to go away so I could sleep on everything I'd realized. I heard him walk away down the hallway back towards his own room. I walked across my room and looked out the window leading to my balcony and how now I remembered what I was supposed to about the moonlit landscape. Vampires.

I thudded into my bed, rubbing my temples and feeling like everything was too surreal.

"Vampires…Daren…Me." I mumbled as I fell asleep, losing my grip on the real world.

My boots crunched the layer of ice covering the snow on the ground in my dream as I walked towards a big sculpture that had snow sliding off of it. I felt a long hood and cloak fluttering behind me in the icy wind as I stepped forward steadily, feeling the bitter cold as it stung my cheeks persistently. The whole statue was carved from black onyx and was of a women in a toga, cupping a crescent moon in her hands that were close to her chest. Snow rested against the smooth stone only for a moment before sliding gently off it, being rustled away by the strong wind. Candles were lit all around the statue, enduring the vicious wind and lighting the statue's women with a diffused glow. Ruins crumbled before her, bowing before they disintegrated with time. I walked up to statue and breathed deeply, forcing the stress that had built up in my body to melt with the wax.

I looked up at the women's serene face and felt myself relax even more, knowing I was safe here. I sat down on the hardened ground and was surprised to feel only a skirt's loose cloth brush against my legs. That made me feel a little colder, but it didn't matter. No thinking about what had been happening. Just enjoy the peace here. Don't think. Just close my eyes and _be._

I let my fingers play along the ice coating the bottom of the statue, touching there and shocking myself with the coldness and then tracing down the grooves of the ice. I wondered how-

_Nope, no thinking for me. Not right now._

"What're you doing here?"

A familiar voice made me lazily open my eyes, determined to not let someone or something in my dreams destroy my peace. But it was Daren, and that pretty much wrecked my mojo. He was walking towards the statue, wearing jeans, a black T-shirt, and a long coat that looked kinda like the one I'd seen in my fantastic reenactment of that night. I looked over myself and blushed when I saw I only had on a short skirt and long blouse with the black hood thingy that was draped over me. Of course, this was probably just an insane dream and I'd know if he did something completely ridiculous. But he kept walking steadily towards me and the statue as I realized he was actually expecting a response.

"Um, dreaming." I muttered, my voice relaxed and comfortable after my mind numbing inner-babble.

"You shouldn't be dreaming about this." He said and walked faster towards me, his brows furrowing together and his face looking grave. I scrambled to my feet. Who was he to tell me what I shouldn't dream about?

"Um, I can dream whatever I want but I don't think I want to dream about you now." I stated, and willed for him to go away but he wouldn't budge. Hmm.

"It's not the type of dream you think it is." He said and when he reached me he grabbed my wrists. I shrieked when he touched me, not because I was surprised he grabbed me, but because he was _really cold_. But unlike in class, I liked it now.

"Why do I have a yellow tulip in my world?" I blurted before I could stop the words from spilling out of my mouth. His eyes widened in surprise.

"You…you have a yellow tulip?" he asked, looking into my eyes and searching them.

"Y-yeah. I had one in…" I said but trailed off as I stared into his eyes that were usually hard and piercing but now they'd softened and I could see warmth and compassion in them. "Are you…" I searched further into his eyes, looking for some creepy feeling that would seem Vampirish. But there wasn't anything. His coldness still crept through me, but it felt good and cleansing. I closed my eyes and let my body absorb it, craving the next wave of ice from him. When I was ready, I opened my eyes and looked straight at him.

"You're a Vampire, I know it." I whispered, following my gut and just saying it before I could leave time for doubt. His grip around my wrists tightened and relaxed.

"You shouldn't be here." He repeated. But I knew I was right. I closed my eyes again and slowly remove my hands from his wrists and put them back at my sides. I turned my back on him and looked at the statue instead of facing him.

"If I'm not supposed to be here, then why am I?" I asked. He was silent for a long, long time and it almost drove me insane.

"Your right." I looked up at the woman, her face calm and kind. Maybe she was keeping me as calm as I was. "I just…I don't _want_ you to be here. It's too soon."

I listened to his words, wondering what they meant. "What do you mean?" I asked.

He walked closer to me and stood at my side, looking up at the glorious statue. "What I mean is, whatever you remembered, it was true."

What I remembered? What I remembered still left me wondering about a thousand and one things. The warrior thing, the snowing thing, the monster thing, and my relationship with him.

"I remembered that night in the woods when I was attacked but I don't get what was going on." I felt him stiffen at my side and he took a long, deep breath that sounded relaxing.

"That night…other Vampires were attacking you because you wandered and they caught your scent." He explained, sounding tense and distraught.

"But, if they were Vampires, weren't they like you? How could you kill them?" I asked, turning towards him.

He shook his head back and forth. "They weren't like me, Lovell. They were corrupt on human blood and had a dangerous thirst that transformed them into those monsters." I looked down at my shoes, ready to ask another question.

"So, you protected me, right?" He nodded. "I called you warrior." He smiled.

"I'm glad you did. It means I was doing my job." He looked into my eyes and ran a hand across my cheek, and following my blood, came to rest on the groove of my neck where my pulse radiated. Suddenly, it was very apparent that he was a Vampire. His eyes seemed more seductive and I felt like I would do anything for him. "Lovell…"

I shivered from his touch and tilted my neck back and to the side, exposing the soft, blood highway in my throat. But before I could think about it, his touch was gone and I was alone in my dream. I whirled around and looked for him, wanting my answers, wanting his touch. _Needing_ his presence.

Bright light streamed through my open window and I rolled out of bed, thudded onto the floor and then sat up straight, bumping my head into my chair. And I was still half asleep, probably because half my brain cells were dead.

"Lovell, you okay?" Jason walked into my room and helped me get up, grabbing my hands and hoisting me off the ground. "You gotta get ready for school." He said and exited my room.

I rubbed my forehead with the back of my hand and managed to stutter, "S-sure." I put on some clothes, ones that I just knew matched, and then fumbled down the stairs and into the kitchen, looking for something that would appeal to my growling stomach. I ate two bowls of cereal, then grabbed a granola bar on the way out to the truck. It was still cold today, but not nearly as frigid as yesterday.

"Hey, Lovell?" I turned and looked at Jason while he was driving. "Are you okay? You seem a little cold. Not attitude wise, but temperature." He lifted a hand to my forehead and flinched back. "Seriously, are you okay?"

I felt fine, maybe a little better then fine. Yeah, my head still hurt from bonking it twice in one morning (hard, might I add). But I felt really, really good. "I'm feeling great, Jason, I'm fine. Maybe your hand is so warm my forehead seems kind of cold." I shrugged it off and he seemed to do the same, refocusing on the road. I ripped off another piece of granola and then stuffed the rest into the wrapper, finally full as Jason pulled up to the curb of the school.

"I need to get you your own car…" he trailed off as I just smiled and waved goodbye, closing the door. I turned around and BAM!ed right into Josh.

"Jeez, your really weird with your greetings." He said, wrapping his arms around me in a big bear hug. I laughed and hugged him back. It was thirty seconds after I stopped hugging _him_ that he stopped hugging _me._ Awkward!

"Umm, by the way, Daren was looking for you. I told him I didn't know where you were but, uh…" He left it wide and open and I knew why. He had now intention of telling Daren my where abouts even if he did know where I was. Which kinda made me a little angry.

"Josh, he's just helping me in chemistry; to catch up and stuff." I huffed, and walked past him. He caught up to me and defended himself, telling me, "Hey, I don't look at you like, ya know, as attractive." Just to make him feel stupid, which was selfish of me, I walked faster and turned my chin up and away from him. "I didn't mean like – whatever, what I mean is, I don't _love_ you." He said, passing me and standing in my way.

"Of course you don't _love_ me! I've only been here for _two_ days! And it _doesn't matter_ since I would never look at you like a boyfriend." I said and I could pick up on something. Not like looking at his face and reading it, more like a radio transmission I was picking up.

_Stupid…ice going dummy…screwed it up!_ I felt my forehead crease and rubbed my temples.

"Look, I just-"

"Not right now, Josh. Something's bothering me." I said, squeezing harder on my temples. It wouldn't go away though.

_Her…hurts…my chance!_

"Do you want me to take you to the nurse?" He asked, moving to loop his arm through mine. That's when I understood. I was hearing Josh's thoughts!

"No!" I said, too quickly, moving away from his approaching arm. "I mean, I can take it, it's not that bad. Um, I'm going to find Daren and then go to class." I walked away before he could protest, moving quickly across the outside sidewalk that winded around the whole school. I saw him then, sitting on one of the metal benches that dotted the edges of the sidewalk. A big oak tree loomed over it, covering him in a big shadow as he read a leather bound book, holding it to his face, his gorgeous face, angled and fierce. A couple benches away, girls squealed and gushed over him, laughing and stealing glances at him every now and then, if they were brave enough. I walked towards him and when I was about ten yards away, he looked up from his book and smiled, watching me as I approached him.

Now, as I was approaching him, my gut told me that he was definitely the Daren who'd been in my dreams and I could tell just by looking at him because he had that same recognition in his eyes. What really helped me confirm it, though, was the fact that he pulled a yellow tulip from his book and twirled it around in his fingers.

"Lovell." He greeted me, letting the name roll off his tongue in that way I liked. I sat down next to him and looked over him. Black button up shirt, jeans, and a grey sweater underneath the button up. The bright yellow tulip looked wrong and yet right in his strong hand, but only right because I knew he was offering it to me. I sighed - out loud.

_What does it mean...? _I plucked the flower from his pale hand and swirled it around between my thumb and index finger, watching as the waxy petals fluttered in the wind. I peered over at the girls in the other bench, watching as they threw wish-you-were-dead looks and then looked away, embarrassed that I'd caught them.

"You shouldn't let them get to you. They're annoying." He said, wrapping his hand around mine and squeezing it. I pulled away, noting that his skin was even colder then the wintry air. He leaned in closer and whispered, "You already know what I am. But I am also your sworn warrior, so you can't get rid of me."

"Sworn?" I asked before I could stop.

He wrapped both his hands around my one and shivers went up and down my body. "I swore to protect you when you were four. I haven't let any harm come to you since." He paused and looked deep into my eyes. "You've grown though…"

"And?" I said, sensing the huge gap he left at the end of the sentence. He ran a hand through his dark hair and then brushed it across my cheek.

"I can't. I can't tell you. You're supposed to remember on you own." I searched in his eyes, looking for some break in his definite tone, but it was unyielding.

I sighed again, staring at the tulip in my lap. "What's going on? I'm so confused. I mean, I heard-"I stopped myself short, not willing to tell him about Josh's thoughts and my being able to – freakily – hear them. "I just, I don't get it. What happened last night?"

"You visited the most ancient shrine dedicated to the Vampire goddess." I looked at him, big _Huh?_ look on my face. "Vania is the goddess of all Vampires. She chooses us, gifts us, protects us." He said, saying it with such reverence that I already believed in her. But one thing grabbed my attention.

"Vania as in _Transylvania?_" It was incredibly stupid, but yeah, I asked. He smiled and laughed.

"Yeah, only she came way before Dracula and English." I could feel blush rising in my cheeks and he stared at them.

"Sorry." I muttered, putting my head down so that he didn't have to watch my blood. "But, why did I go to her shrine? Is it a real place? Was I supposed to be there?" I asked, knowing that I was letting my mouth run.

"It is a real place. Its located on a remote island off the coast of Transylvania." I couldn't help but smile. "But you have to be a Vampire to get there. I don't know whether or not you were supposed to be there though." He explained, answering only two of my questions.

"I repeat, why did I go to her shrine?" Unwilling to give up, I pressed harder.

"It's…complicated, Lovell." He said, looking off in the distance. I huffed and stood up, staring him down and then saying, "This is insane. _You're_ not even supposed to exist! If I already know that, every other little detail doesn't matter anymore. And, well, this involves _me._" I said, motioning towards myself.

"Lovell, come here." He said, opening his arms big and wide and before I knew it, my body was lured to him and I sat down in his arms as they wrapped chillingly around me. I felt so safe in his arms, so utterly protected. Nothing could touch me.

"There are things I can't tell you yet. I will be able to soon." When I looked up, I expected him to be smiling, happy that he could share secrets with me. But his face was dark and sharp, his eyes so sad. I reached up with my hand that was snuggly wrapped by a glove like thing that showed my knuckles and didn't cover my fingers. Then I let my fingers trace his jawbone, mesmerized by his cold, rigid skin.

"Its okay, Daren." I soothed, but my voice cracked and quivered, hating how haunted his face was.

_Look…that…her hands…all over…deserve him!_

I pulled away quickly, my hand flying to my head. I rubbed my forehead. I had picked up on thoughts again. This isn't supposed to be possible. But a lot of my theories were being proven wrong lately.

"Lovell?" I looked back at Daren. "Are you okay?" I nodded quickly, rubbing my temples (again) and starting to move away from his arms. Until he asked, "What did you hear?"

I stopped and stared, knowing that if I'd heard any _noise_, he would have heard it, too. But were thoughts noise? Did they make a sound? "Stuff. I heard stuff."

He chuckled and pulled me back into his arms as shivers ran up and down my body. "I hear 'stuff,' too, you know. What stuff did you hear _exactly?_" He smiled encouragingly, making my heart speed.

"Probably just part of those girls' conversation." I said, turning my head towards them and watching as they silently bent over their phones, giggling now and then from their conversation. Two of the girls looked up and caught me in glares head on, then quickly turning back to their phones. And I _saw it._

_She can't…intimidate us…Daren wit…ridiculo…_

They weren't talking. Lips weren't moving. Their thumbs just went_ Tap! Tap! Tap!_ against their phone's buttons.

"No? Tell me, what are you hearing?" He said, lowering his voice on the last sentence. And despite the fact that I was staring open mouthed at the girls and I wasn't even looking at his face, his voice was enough to convince me to tell him the truth.

"Their thoughts." I started, turning towards him. "Their thoughts. I'm hearing their thoughts." His brows furrowed. I completely, undeniably thought he would tell me it was impossible.

"Really?" He asked, instead, once (AGAIN!) proving my theories completely wrong. It was getting tiresome.

"Yeah, really. Now, for the sake of my sanity, tell me that I'm _insane_!" I said, moving from his lap to the wrought iron bench. I looked at him pointedly, waiting for him to say it.

"Ha! If you're insane, Lovell, I'm completely messed up." He smiled, crooked, and completely hypnotizing.

"Scuse me?" I said, my jaw dropping. "What _are _you talking about?" He smiled and looked up towards the sky.

"I can read minds, lift sixteen wheelers, move so fast you can't see me, manifest things, erase memories, and, who knows what else?" He tilted my chin up towards him. "Lovell, this is just the beginning."

The bell rang and he stood, handing me my backpack, and staying close to my side. He opened the door for me to science and I walked in, taking my seat next to Josh.

"What're you doing with that guy?" He said, almost sneering the last word.

"I told you." I stated, pissed. "I went to find him and he _helped me with chemistry_!" It was a total lie, but I seriously didn't need Josh to be acting like this. But it was harsh. I breathed deeply, in and out and started again. "Besides, he's not that bad. You'd just have to get to know him, that's all." Which was ironic for me to say, since I barely knew much about him…still.

Josh looked like he was going to apologize for everything but Matty trotted up to me and practically threw me out of my chair, grasping my arm and tugging me to her seat.

"I _saw you_ with _Daren!_" She screamed under her breath, barely breathing before she continued. "He was laughing and you looked shocked and he was smiling and _you_ were smiling! And then he _walked_ you to _class!_"

I waited for her to start breathing again and while I was waiting, I glanced over at Daren, seated in the back. He was smiling and looking straight at me. Then, above the buzz that had been going on in my head, I heard his thought.

_Matty is always entertaining. I suggest you don't tell her _too_ much._

My eyes widened and it took me a second before I realized Matty had started blabbing again.

"He's so-o hot! H-O-T! Well, he's more like cool,"

_You haven't got a clue._

"But, still, just so a_ma_zing! Are you dating him?" Without looking at her, I answered.

"No, Matty. I've only been here for _two_ days." I said, glad my voice didn't crack or stutter.

_Hm, I wouldn't say that._ His thought rang in loud and clear and I figured out that the buzz in my head was all the tinier thoughts whizzing around the room. I looked at him again and he smiled. Then, another thought: how the hell was he hearing our conversation from across the room through all the other noises?

"Aww, you can tell me!" Matty pleaded, tugging down on my arm. "I mean, I'm not certain but it seems like your hanging with him."

"I like him, he's nice, but I'm not dating him."

"Nice? He doesn't talk. At all. Well, except when the teachers call on him. And he always gets it right." She said, putting a finger to her chin.

The bell rang and I walked back to my seat. Before Ms. McLonee called the class to be quiet, Josh leaned close to me and said, "I really am sorry about dragging on you this morning. It's not your fault. I'm just too, I guess, insecure." He turned away and I knew he didn't want me to say anything.

"Alright, students. As you might know, the ski trip to the Colorado Rockies is coming up in the next week, and we are now going to have you fill out your info sheet." She passed one to each kid and when she came to me, she told me, "Your guardian was alerted that the trip was coming up and he filled out the form for you to go."

_What?! _

"Got it." She handed me my info sheet and I just stared straight ahead.

_Are you excited?_ Daren sent a big thought at me again.

_Absolutely not! Skiing? Colorado? With me, that spells catastrophe!_

I could feel the laughter he sent to me, but that was all. Now, I had no choice. I couldn't get out of this, not a chance. I filled each space out on the sheet, like I was handing over my soul. Slowly. Painfully. Tear inducing.

I handed the sheet up the rows, watching as it was transferred, hand to hand: my soul going away.


	7. Chapter 7

Black Books and Buried Memories

I waited, impatiently, for Jason to pull up with his truck and take me home. I was annoyed even with my tapping foot. I heard his tires turn and I turned to look but was stunned to see that he was half a football field away. I looked straight for a second and then shook my head, telling myself it was just the wind carrying the noise. And that would have been a perfect excuse if the wind hadn't been carrying the sound away.

"There's Jason." I lifted my backpack up and turned to Daren, who insisted on staying with me. He wrapped his arms around me in a chilling hug and kissed my cheek, gently, but there. I could feel blush rising and I stepped quickly away.

"I'm used to it now." He said, gently brushing my copper hair behind my ear. "Anyways, I can take you home if you'd rather do that sometimes." I smiled, liking the idea of him and me being truly alone in his car.

"I'll tell Jason." There wasn't any school for the next two days because of second quarter report card processing. Then on Monday we were to be here at 7:00, ready to be driven to the airport in Orlando and then, ready to ride for about four hours in an airplane to Denver, Colorado, otherwise known as our destination. The nice thing was that less then a tenth of the school was going, which meant it was like fifty five kids. Including me and Daren. And because we were Demonte and Durantelo, we would be able to sit next together, on the bus and on the plane (courtesy of Daren and his ability to make minute changes in people's mind).

"See you Monday, Lovell." He said, then walked off to his car, parked in the school lot.

I got into the cab of the truck and cranked the air conditioning hot and warm, sick of standing in the cold.

"So, I'm going on a school trip. To _Colorado._" I said, completely voicing my paranoia. "What exactly were you thinking when you signed me up?"

"I was thinking you'd like it and be happy I signed you up." He said. I felt really bad. I mean, tons and tons of girls would love to be in my place, so he was thinking about me as a normal girl.

"Well, thanks for putting me on it." I said, wanting him to believe I was normal even when, at the moment, I was anything but. He smiled, then turned into our driveway. "I was thinking, I may need my own car or something soon-" He cut me off.

"I've already taken care of it." He said, and then motioned with his head to look out my window. I looked and there was a pick-up truck that was run down but I could just somehow see that it was still run of the finest running machines I'd seen. It was a sandy golden color and had big tires and a cab. It wasn't like Jason's, it was really just different. But, it made adrenaline rush anyways, and I burst out of Jason's truck and zoomed over to _mine._ I got in and the keys were stuck in the ignition, just waiting for my hand to yank them in the right direction. They didn't have to wait long.

I pulled out of the driveway, turning sharp so that it wheeled around on itself like in the auto commercials. I zipped out onto the dirt road, dirt turning.

In the rear view mirror, Jason was smiling, clapping for my performance. I turned on the road that led to nowhere, pressing further and further on the gas as I peeked into the high hundreds, feeling only force, only rush, only the smooth engine. I coasted at eighty, swerving with the land.

But it was weird. I was _never_ able to drive like this. I was always shaky, always fidgeting with the wheel. I never, ever drove like, well, this. I wouldn't have been capable.

But I did now. And it felt freaking amazing. The forest on the sides of the road were no longer trees but just blurs as my vision widened, seeing everything in the road, but nothing else. My seat belt was off, and the sign kept flashing. But I ignored it. Soon, I started lifting my foot off the gas, slowing until I could reverse and turn around and then I pressed even further, hitting one hundred and loving every each inch of it.

I turned back onto the estate at forty five, then breaking it in the driveway. It jerked forward and then the suspension pulled it back into place. Jason was smiling and walking towards the car, so I opened the door and smiled up at him.

"I thought you took off without me." He said, laughing as I got out of it.

"I think I almost did." I said, nodding and laughing along with him, thinking about how nice it would have been to just keep on driving. I clicked it locked, loving that it was _mine._ It felt great. Just amazing. Now, new business.

"Hey, are there any bookstores around here?" I needed one. Just to float away in other people's worlds instead of my own even though mine was pretty nice right now…and pretty weird.

"Yeah. I'll tell you where some are." He said. "Actually, you can go now, if that's what you want. The one I think you'd like is this little place…" He pulled out paper and pen, then started scribbling down stuff. He handed it to me. It was messy, but I could definitely read it.

"Thanks." I said, then got back in the thruck. I could hear Blackbird playing in my head as I drove too fast out into the more populated part of Oviedo. When I arrived at the place, there wasn't a parking lot, just the street. I parallel parked and got out, then walked up to the little place, with flowers sprouting in the front windows and in the bushes. The building itself was more like a house and it probably was. I climbed up the steps and walked inside, liking how the whole place was empty except for an old lady, with a wise looking face, and silver hair pulled into a bun.

A little bell twinkled when I opened the door and the woman looked up with a smile.

"Welcome." She said, a lot stronger then I thought she was capable of.

"Thank you. What's the name of this place?" I asked, looking around at the chimes and things hanging from the ceiling and the assortment of books and other sentimental things.

"It has no name." She stated, clear and simple and there was some sort of power in having no name. I guess it was the fact that no one could find you unless they really wanted to. Visited only by those who have meaning. "Child, why did you come here?"

I breathed in and knew the answer instantly. "I love books." I said, and she was smiling, her eyes sparkling.

"They are amazing, aren't they? They have the power to control lives and emotions. But most importantly, they gift us with knowledge." She said, and when I breathed again I smelled sage and eucalyptus in the air. I smiled back at her, liking how she looked at everything. She eyed me carefully, closed her eyes for a couple seconds, and then said, "Would you like a reading, perhaps?" and I knew she wasn't advertising. She could sense me, too, like Ren, and _wanted_ to read me.

"Sure." She opened the door into the back and motioned for me to follow. I walked behind her and into a room with a table and the sage and eucalyptus was burning there. She pulled a small leather bag off a shelf and motioned for me to sit down at the table. She shook the bag upside down and ten bones of different shapes collapsed on the table.

"I need to feel your hands." She said and I laid my palms up on the table. Her old hands rested on top of mine and I focused on the gentle stream of energy that was searching gently through out my body. She pulled her hands away and then threw the bones out onto the table. They clattered and clacked and like they were pulled by magnets and strings, they rearranged themselves into a very precise position, lying on top of each other.

The woman's brows shot up and she asked me, "What's your name, child?"

"Lovell." I answered. She leaned over the table and studied the bones. Her eyes moved from bone to bone, taking her time. I think it was about ten minutes that she finally talked.

"I see a monumental change in your future…. But with that change, you'll be put in grave danger. I also see that you have many Psychic powers." She resigned back to her chair, leaving me stunned and shocked. Then her eyes searched the pile again. "You also have a lover in your future." I stood, becoming much taller then her.

"Thank you, but I don't want to hear anything else." I was completely convinced she had a connection with spirit, but I couldn't hear anything else; I was already freaked after three sentences.

"That's quite alright, child." She said, quickly scooping the bones back into the bag. I was about to turn and go browse but then I had a question.

"What realm of Psychics are you?"

"Indian, child. More specifically, Cherokee." I nodded, then walked out of the room and into the main space to start browsing. "Child, what realm are you?"

"I haven't got a clue." I said, looking at some books that were all on Psychic thingies.

"Hmph." She said, and turned back to arranging things in the back counter.

Lots of the books were multicolored, some were in leather, some were used, and there were tons of different types. In the section I was in which was, I suppose, Psychics, there were lots of purple and blue books. I browsed them, breathing in and out the scents of sweet parchment and different herbs and candles. I pulled out one of the normal looking books and flipped through it, absorbing info easier then usual. I went to put it back, but there was a book that was tipped over in the back, blocking the books around it from going all the way in. I reached for it and grabbed it, feeling some weird energy radiating from it. I placed the other book in its place and pulled this new one all the way out, shifting into a criss-cross apple sauce position on the floor.

I flipped the book around in my hands, taking in the all black leather surface, with no title or author inscribed. The pages were worn and when I let the pages flutter out from under my thumb, the smell of old paper, sweet and warm, brushed into my face. I opened the first page and there was nothing but a weird marking that was a drop of something falling into flames…it was like the flames couldn't wait for it to come, they opened up and looked ready to swallow the drop.

I moved to the second page and it had weird markings but I think they were supposed to be foreign letters. On the page after that, there was a table of contents that was artfully written in intricate manuscript.

_Table of Contents:_

_Intro: ……_

_Truth and Myths: ……_

_Vania: ……_

I felt my brows lift up, as I scanned over everything else on the list. Weirder was the fact that there weren't any page numbers for the things, just those little dots. I turned the page and written in even more elaborate manuscript was _Vampyres_.

Ah, so the Vania thing did make sense. I carried the book to the counter and placed it on the glass surface, then looked down at the spiritual gems that had been carved into jewelry. I handed her the money and she turned over the change, handing me the book.

"It's been nice to meet you." I said, smiling at the little old lady. "What's your name?"

"Just call me Granny, child." She said with a smile, causing the skin around her eyes to wrinkle. And with that, I walked out of the tiny store, running into Daren as I stepped onto the first stair.

"Lovell? What are you doing here?" He asked, grabbing my waist and preventing a nasty fall down the stairs. I waved the book in front of him, blood bouncing around in my head.

"I bought a book." I straightened myself and looked him in the eye, his nice dark eyes. "That lady is really nice. She gave me a reading for free."

I watched as his eyes narrowed into slits, searching mine although I knew I didn't do anything wrong. He looked over my shoulder and into the shop and all of a sudden that piercing look was gone and he said, "Well, I guess I didn't expect to see you until Monday. I guess I should've known better." He murmured the last part. "What did you get?" He asked, and I handed him the strange book. He flipped through it and looked pointedly at me, expressing that he didn't want me looking into him.

"I thought I should know a little more since I've been experiencing weird things lately. I mean, all of my normal theories that I've been believing in a long time; they're obviously wrong." I said, carefully plucking the book from his hands. Blackbird started playing in my head again. And he laughed.

"You like that song?" He inquired and brushed a strand of hair away from my face. "_Blackbird singing in the dead of night._" He sung, and I closed my eyes and listened to him sing one of my favorite songs, feeling my entire body relax as I sang along in my head. His voice was hoarse and soft, and I leaned into him, feeling his chest vibrate with the notes, comforting me. The song ended too soon.

"By the way, is that _your_ truck?" His eyes searched mine, crooked smile on his lips. "Yes." He said.

I cringed, knowing that he just plucked it out from my head, unable to hide it from him. "Yeah, it is. Jason got it for me." I looked at my new truck, and although I said it was a little run down, its still stuck out among the completely beaten up trucks. "I might have to drag it along a guardrail before it looks like it belongs."

_Mine's more noticeable_. He smiled down at me and I looked a little ways down the street, seeing a cherry red Lamborghini. I gaped up at him and before I could stop myself: "Can I drive it?" I winced, knowing I should NOT be allowed in that car. He chuckled, tugged me closer, and said, "I just need to be able to go fast. Vamp thing."

I nodded, liking to go fast, too, just as a human. Which was a new taste I'd acquired… "See you Monday." He said, walking towards the little shop's door.

"Wait!" I blurted. He turned and looked at my quizzically. "Um, I was wondering…" What _was _I wondering? Well, a lot of things, but I'd need more time to ask them all. "Never mind." I said, looking down at my shoes.

"We can talk about it later, Lovell." He said, and continued into the shop. He walked up to the woman and started talking to her as I turned and got in my car, pulling out and driving down the street with the book in my lap. When I got home, it was getting late and after I ate dinner, I flipped through the book, sticking post-its where I wanted to read more.

"Eleven, Lovell!" Jason called down the hall, drawing my eyes up from a passage on all the different ridiculous myths that had developed over the years. Combustion due to sun, death from garlic, and the notion that they're soulless. I flicked off the light and snuggled further into my bed, enjoying the cold air that was flowing through my open doors. My eyes hung heavy and I slowly fell asleep, thankful for the coming rest.

I walked cautiously towards the statue of Vania in her shrine, my eyes searching everywhere for Daren, or maybe someone else. It was the same kind of dream as the other, same statue, same snow falling on the ground, and the same crunch of my boots on the ice-hardened ground. The instrumental sounds of Blackbird resonated from everywhere, filling the whole dreamscape with the eerily beautiful sounds.

Besides the music, some other things were different like the way I was wearing the same skirt but then only a tight short sleeve blouse and also the way it was snowing harder and the cold didn't seem to effect me at all, not in the slightest way. The same hood and cloak fluttered in the wind behind me even though now I didn't require it against the cold.

Steadily, I walked against the wind and up to the statue, gazing up at Vania again, seeing a new majestic and regal look in her face as she cupped the crescent moon and closed her eyes. I closed my eyes, too, and breathed in the sent of the candles that still remained stubbornly lit at her feet. I felt something stir in front of me, between the statue and my body. I opened my eyes and the wind picked up and threatened to push me back, so I dug my toes into the ground and forced myself to the statue, wrapping a hand around the edge.

All of a sudden, blinding light flashed through the shrine like a solar flare, and for a moment, nothing was left black. I lifted my hand to shield my eyes from the brilliant light, and then backed up because it was coming from the statue. It condensed, further and further to a tube of light, right in front of the statue, then it dispersed, sending sparkles into the air around it.

Standing where the light had been, was Vania, just like the statue, but colored in with a white toga, and purple eyes with the crescent moon floating out of her hands. She had paper white skin that was lit from the inside, giving off an amazing glow as she took one strong step towards me, closing the gap before I could even think of something to explain what was happening.

"Lovell, you're here again." She said, and smiled as her eyes met mine, and I felt her pressure falling on top of my body, but in a nice comforting way, like when you cover yourself with a warm, heavy blanket. "Have you gotten any of your memories back?"

I expected her to pull it from my mind, but when she said nothing, I asked "Can't you tell?"

She laughed, and it rung like the most musical chimes, smooth and warm hearted. "I give all my children the gift of privacy. Although, if they need me to look into their minds, I most certainly can."

Almost instantly, I felt her presence in my mind, soft and searching, and within a few moments, it pulled out and she smiled, but worry pinched her brows closer together. "Would… you like all your memories back?" She asked, searching my face for a reaction.

All my memories. What was she talking about? What could I have forgotten? But if I did forget, it would be nice to remember, I guess.

"Um, sure." She extended a hand and I placed mine on top of it, and before I could ask what she was going to do, before I could really do anything, a barrage of images and memories crashed into my mind, and I remembered everything so vividly, so terrifyingly strong, I fell to my knees in front of Vania with my hands grasping my head. She fell beside me and held me close, but wasn't able to stop the shakes that made my body vibrate.

"I'm sorry, my child. But it _is_ the truth." She said, her voice soft and soothing, but still, the images washed over me, causing me to shake continuously.

_I can't take it! Stop!_ And suddenly, someone shook me harder then my own throbbing body and Vania's touch was gone. I snapped my eyes open and looked at Daren, his eyes dilated and impossibly dark in my moonlit room. My doors to the balcony were still open and he was sitting on the edge of my bed, hands on my shoulders as I still shook. I fought my way into his arms, needing to get away from the bed, needing to stay awake, so that it was _just_ a dream. I tucked my head between his shoulder and neck, his icy touch bringing me closer and closer to reality.

"Lovell…" He said, his voice pained and his neck strained to get away from me. I looked up and he was wincing, but his eyes had so much desire and want.

"Sorry." I mumbled, and detangled myself, moving away from him and the bed, settling on sitting on the chair near my desk. I wrapped my arms around myself, grimacing when I realized I was wearing short boxer PJs with a white kind of see-through T-shirt that was too big…with nothing on underneath.

I watched as he took deep breaths, and focused intently on the moon.

"Are you okay?" He said, his voice still strained, as he looked down, his black hair falling in his eyes. I winced, knowing that I definitely wasn't. That my life was a sham. That I was far more then I'd even known. And although I had no intention of telling him that, he sensed it before I could cover it up. "Sorry, it's just…" He said, looking out the doors as I fiddled with the hem on my too-big shirt.

"You're thirsty?" I asked, voice quivering a little. He looked up at me, eyes ashamed, brows arched and sad. "I mean, its normal, right? I can't blame you for it. It's just, like, what you do." I said, mentally kicking myself.

"Yeah." He said, and started moving towards the doors.

"Wait! I just…do you have to leave?" I asked, getting up and lamely reaching out with a hand before it fell back to my side. He wanted to stay, I saw it.

"I shouldn't be around you like this." He said, let his eyes flow down the length on my body, and moved onto the balcony, ready to jump down.

I don't know what possessed me, but I walked towards him and grabbed his shirt with one hand while I pull the collar of my shirt down, exposing the area between my neck and my shoulder with my other hand. He spun around, and his eyes grew wide when he saw my hand move to the area, ready to dig in and tear the skin away. He stopped my hand, brows knitting together in frustration with himself.

"I'm okay with it, really. Just…take it." I said, stepping closer to him, positioning myself so that his head was in front of my neck, but his hand still held mine in place.

"Lovell…" He started, his voice in such pain I only wanted to take it away. "I can't take from you like that. I can't allow myself. You're my lady…I can't."

"But I want you to, Daren." I said, knowing that now that I've started it, I had to see it through. He looked at me wistfully, then took a small step towards me, fitting our bodies together. I leaned my head back, and he move his mouth closer, closer, until his cold breath poked goose bumps in my skin.

"Lovell…this isn't good for you." He said, begging me to change my mind.

"But it is for you, and that's what I care about." I said, wrapping my arms around him and pulling him close to me, until his lips met my skin and then there was a sharp sting as his fangs popped through. He placed his hands on my shoulders, holding me in place as he drank from me, holding me carefully as if I could break. His hands tightened on my shoulders, then let them run down to my waist, grabbing me there. I bowed my head, burying it in the crook of his neck again, breathing in his scent of leather and books and cotton. He moaned, a deep hoarse sound that came from deep in his chest, and then he pulled away, closing the wound somehow as he let his tongue run along it.

I leaned into him, feeling the loss of blood effecting my balance and thought. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me towards the bed, then cradled me in his arms as he looked me over.

"It's not good for you to act like that, Lovell." He said, brushing hair off my sweaty forehead.

"You were going to leave. I…I didn't want you to." I whimpered, closing my eyes and letting him brush hair away from my face and trace my collarbone. He peered into my mind and cringed, seeing everything I remembered and pulling me closer.

"Is it all true?" I asked, despite the fact that I knew it was.

"Yes. You're a Vampire-to-be."


	8. Chapter 8

Fantasy War

"Aren't you sooooo excited?!" Cory was practically bouncing at the security check point in the airport.

"You've already asked about thirty times, Cory. And the answer is _yes._" Josh said as he pushed his shoes off and put his backpack in a plastic bin.

"Well, I don't care. Stop killing my buzz." Cory retaliated, and Matty gave him a high five as she un-strapped her sandals and threw them into the bin with her electronics.

"This is going to be awesome, I mean, rooms with your friends and tons of hot cocoa with marshmallows after riding down a ski slope? It's incredible!" Matty said, as she walked through the metal detector and smiled at a young worker, trying to get a hit in before the four hours of flight.

I slid my shoes off as I laughed and put them in the same bucket as my sweater, and then put my bag in a different one. Younger guys in the crowd kept looking at me, making it hard to focus on my excitement. I walked through the metal detector after Josh, followed by Cory, and we all found a bench to put our shoes on at.

"What do _you_ think, Lovell?" Matty said pointedly, implying that I hadn't been talking a lot.

"I'm really excited. At first I didn't want to go but now…I'm glad I am." I said, grinning at them all, and getting smiles back.

"Haver High! Over here, now." A teacher called us over to a Chili's in the safety area. "In ten minutes, you are to report to gate eleven. Food, restrooms, anything you need is available to you here but you need to be at the gate in _ten_ minutes. Alright, go!"

"I'm hungry." Cory said after we'd walked a little ways from Chili's. "Why don't we get something to eat?" Everyone nodded but I honestly didn't need to eat food before I got on a plane. Not a good idea.

"Sorry guys, but I can't eat before I get on a plane. I'm just gonna go to the gate."

"Aw, c'mon, Lovell. Just come and get a drink or something. If you like what I get you can share." Matty pleaded, her green eyes sparkling in the bright fluorescent light.

"Mmm." I mumbled, twisting the string on my bag. "Fine." I let in, and she grabbed my hand and we hurried to catch up with Josh, who was motioning us towards a Cinnabon that hadn't been stormed by students yet.

Cory, Matty, and Josh ordered some of those sticky cinnamon rolls and I got myself a cappuccino at the Starbucks next door and we all sat down at a table. I sipped at the coffee mix and nibbled on a chunk of a roll as we chatted.

"So, is the whole group getting one plane or do we have to share it with other people?" Josh asked, stuffing a big chunk of sugar glazed roll into his mouth.

"It's all of us to our own plane." I said, remembering what Daren had told me after looking into a couple of the employee's minds.

"Sweet! So, we can sit by our friends?" I nodded and Matty and Cory threw their arms around each other. Josh looked at me and had a look in his eyes, assuming we were sitting together. I looked down at my lap, and sipped at my cappuccino again. I was sitting with Daren, and I'd told Matty earlier.

"So, Josh is gonna sit with Alex?" Matty said, rescuing me from my guilt trip.

"Well, me and Lovell co-"

"No, it's a good idea; you've been friends with him for a long time." I said, cutting him off and trying my best to smile. I hoped he didn't think it was a grimace.

"Oh, gosh, we've gotta go." Cory said, glancing at his watch. We picked our stuff up and they finished their rolls on the way to the gate, and we sat down in a row of seats. Alex walked over and slapped hands with Josh, then sat down next to him.

"Okay! Everyone, line up and file on; we'll leave shortly." A chaperone herded us onto the plane and I handed a lady a ticket and hurried into the tunnel thingy that connects the plane to the port. Daren was sitting in the eighth row and I quickly walked down the aisle, took my seat next to him, and relaxed into the chair. Matty and Cory took up the seats behind us, filling the air with chatter and laughs.

"Hi, um, again." I said, wanting to smack myself. "Again" happened to be three days ago, which didn't call for "again." I guess I was just so obsessed, it felt like yesterday.

"Hey." He said, smiling and allowing his fangs to peek out from his gums, reminding me once again that he was a Vampire. Sometimes, I needed to be reminded. His eyes were nice and black, his skin frigid and cold, and I still liked it all. "Are you okay today?" He asked, letting his hand trace along the two little dots that had already become peach colored.

I pulled his hand away and smiled reassuringly at him. "I'm fine, Daren. You don't have to be worried."

"Hm. 'don't have to be.' But I am." He said, his eyes delving into mine. I looked away, throwing my hair over the marks. "Lovell," he lowered his voice so Matty and Cory or anyone else could hear. "Biting you could speed up your awakening." He said, brushing my cheek with his hand, ensuring that blush spilled into my face.

I chewed on the inside of my mouth. I'd been thinking about the Vampire stuff non-stop, what would exactly happen to me, when it would happen. I mean, god forbid the change happens on the trip. I shifted in the chair and rested against his shoulder, letting a tear drip out of my eye.

"I'm scared of it, Daren. What will happen?" I whispered, my voice cracking. This was hardly the time or place for crying but it happened almost every time I thought about it. He smoothed my hair back and traced the curves in my ear.

"No matter what happens, Lovell, I'll always be here for you. It's my duty as your warrior." He murmured. "But…I don't really know what will happen." He pulled me closer, engulfing me in his spell. I wanted to cuddle closer to him, to feel his nice cold atmosphere wrap around me but I couldn't do it on a public airplane. Surrounded by people that know me. And Haver High's fair share of on-watch teachers.

"Then maybe this was a mistake." I said, thinking how horrible things would go if something happened on the trip. The plane jerked away from the port and started taxiing; blowing away any chances of me hopping off the plane. I thudded my head against his shoulder. "You realize that my life is completely _insane_ now, right?" He chuckled and tilted my chin up towards him, looking deeply into my eyes, and I felt centuries of protection and comforting energy streaming into my body. I closed my eyes and let it wash over me. Everything would be fine.

"Hey, Lovell," Matty whispered through the crack between me and Daren's seats, stopping the flow of the nice energy. "Can I tell Cory about you and Daaaren?" I sighed.

"Are you gonna tell him anyways?" I asked, looking her in the eye through the slim opening.

"…Yeah." She said, and grinned, turning back to Cory, and then started whispering urgently. He gasped, and I peered back through the seats, and met Cory's twinkling eyes. I sunk lower into the seat, looking up at Daren, while he smiled and shook his head. He traced the curves of my hand, letting his fingers glide on mine, leaving a trail of cold along it. I pulled away and fumbled in my bag, letting my fingers wrap around my ipod, pull it out, and stick the buds in my ear and cranked the volume to a level where I knew it drained out all the other noise, yet no one else could hear it.

Icy cold winds whipped my hair all across my face, stinging my cheeks and making my eyes squint into even tinier slits, as the Colorado winds rushed across the airport parking lot to greet the group of students visiting from mild Florida. Me, Cory, and Matty huddled together in a compact group, warming each other as best as we could. I didn't really feel all that cold, but I'd lived in ten different places with my parents, including Alaska.

"Bleh. Its not possible for it to be this cold!" Matty complained, and pulled her thumbs out of her gloves in order to text on her phone, then neatly tucking them back inside when she was done.

"Pleeeease, Lovell, can I just have a sip?" Cory eyed my hot cocoa, pleading with his eyes 'til I gave in and handed him the cup, watching as he took an entire gulp, not a sip.

"This isn't that cold. I mean, not as cold as places I've lived before." I said, pulling a brownish-coppery chunk of my hair out of my chap stick lips and smoothing it behind my ear. Cory handed me the cup, and I took a couple drinks from it, emptied it, and crumpled it into a nice round ball. Matty snatched it from my hand and tossed it at a girl named Rachel, whom I'd met through Matty. She had mocha skin, and short, spiky dark brown hair, with big, angled blue eyes and a jaw that was a really angled, yet had a softness to it. She turned and smiled, playfully glaring at Matty as she walked over and tucked her arm through my own, joining our circle of warmth.

"I was so freaked out on that plane." Rachel said, a shiver running down her spine. "Those engines were so loud."

"You shoulda listened to your ipod. That's what Lovell did." Cory spilled, adding to the blush that had already built up in my cheeks from the cold. "Instead of enjoying Daren Delicious she was listening to something that had bad singers."

"Omigod." Rachel gushed. "You were sitting next to Daren Durantelo? New Girl, you've got skills."

"No." I stated, really to the last part, but it was so quick and without hesitation, I knew they thought I was trying to cover up feelings. "I mean, I don't know. Its not really like that." I said lazily, thankful that there was no possible way that my cheeks could get any rosier.

"Hmm, we'll have to talk about this later." Rachel stated and jabbed her head towards the group of kids that was lining up to get on a bus (hopefully with a heater). "But, will you be sitting next to him on the bus?" Rachel asked, her blue eyes tinged with jealousy.

"I don't know." I answered, and looked around for Daren, standing on my tippy toes to see over the crowd getting onto the bus. He was leaning against the side of the gargantuan vehicle, pressing harder into it as a group of girls gushed over him, right in front of him, giggling and asking him stuff. He narrowed his gaze and said something, scattering the girls quickly as they fled from his coldness. I let my heels fall back down against the ground and twisted my gloved fingers nervously. Probably because I was attached to him in a way that made him _mine_. Mine and _only_ mine. So, I guess that meant I was over protective.

"Uh, Lovell? What is it?" Matty asked, flipping her white blonde hair to the other side of her head. I looked up and met her questioning eyes.

"Nothing. I'm fine." I said, as non-guilty as possible. They eyed me but Matty and Rachel kept their arms entwined in mine as we walked to the big bus, only to part at the door. I walked down the aisle, planning on walking pass Daren, to get over myself, but he met my eyes strong and clear.

_Sit with me, Lovell._ His telepathic message was loud and I peeled off from the group at the last second, sliding into the seat next to him and pulling off my extra jacket since the bus's AC was cranked up to "oven." As people passed by, searching for their seats, I spotted Josh and met his eyes, watching as they widened and then looked angry and betrayed. But he knew nothing. I sunk deeper into the seat and closed my eyes, listening to a play list of songs in my head as the bus lurched forward and onto a mountainous road that winded up a snow capped mountain.

I'm not really sure when I fell asleep, but it wasn't rocket science to figure out that I did when I was back at Vania's shrine, with rain falling all over, washing the snow away and unthawing the evergreen trees. I felt the cold rain seep instantly through my clothes, suction cupping them to my body and soaking every inch of me in less then a minute.

I was sitting down on the freshly washed ground, my legs folded under me, my feet sticking out in the back. Normal clothes covered me this time around: a pair of black capris and a white T that had become see through from the pouring rain.

I scrambled to my feet and whirled around and around and around until my stomach felt like it was in my throat. The rain wet my hair and ran down my neck and face, down my back, and off my toes onto the mushy ground. I let my hand rest against statue, leaning more against it with every breath.

_Something's wrong._ My eyes searched the landscape, the broken ruins, the tall trees, some bare, some green. I walked to the edge of the forest carefully, the sound of rain pelting against the ground becoming louder and louder…_crack!_

I spun around, faster then I thought I could ever go, the rain becoming silent as I focused only on that snapping twig, and as soon as I thought about moving to the other side of the clearing, I was already there. And although that should have left me freaked, I was so focused on the dark woods in front of me, and rain still splattered on my skin. Tension vibrated through the air, leaving goose bumps on my skin and the hair on the nape of my neck raised as I stepped closer to the forest, peering into the thick darkness as though I could see through it. Something was in there, but wh-

"Lovell!" A force knocked the wind out of me as it shoved me to the left, out of the path of a beast that launched from the woods, yellow eyes flashing and thick fur rippling with the quake of muscles. It let out a vicious roar that made me ten times more on edge, and I was completely infuriated for some reason. I launched myself at it, unable to control my body as I flew through the air and landed on the thing's huge shoulder, knocking it back with force to where it stumbled onto its back, yelping out in pain as I dug my fists into its skin with punches.

A feral growl emanated from the woods and I knew that the thing I was on top of was the least of my worries. Another set of eyes reflected the light from the darkness, about seven feet off the ground. I looked down and observed the creature. The sharp teeth, the thick fur, the lolling tongue, and large paws paired with a tail.

_A…wolf?_ The other wolf emerged from the shadows, ten feet high, snarl placed on its face, and its too-human eyes peering back at me. It was dark grey and had a white chest that ran down to between its two front legs.

_Not wolf. Werewolf. _I removed myself from the top of the first one, a trail of brown hair fluttering behind me.

"Lovell, what are you doing here?" I turned and saw Vania, in different clothes. She had on a black sporty sweater that looked like it could take a lot of abuse, along with a pair of tight black pants with white leg warmers and slim shoes, with her long dark hair tied in a high pony. I knew the look well. It was combat gear. Then I saw them.

Swarming the whole clearing were hundreds of Vampires, all charging toward the Werewolves, a whole pack of them sprinting into the clearing and trying to barge through the lines of fair skinned, dark haired creatures.

"Lovell." Vania grasped one of my arms, her Vampire temperature, for some reason, not effecting me. "Why are you _here_?"

"How should I know? I fell asleep on the bus to the ski resort – " I cut myself off, knowing that didn't matter. "This is supposed to be a dream! But I _know_ its not, because this-" I motioned towards the huge battle. "_This_ doesn't make any sense! I would never dream about this stuff!" I said, my nerves popping and sizzling, going haywire already.

"Lovell, I showed you the truth the last time you _came_ to me. Your father was a Vampire, you'll be a Vampire, and _this,_" she jabbed a long slender finger to the combat scene. "This is war. _Those_ are Werewolves, that's why you attacked them; its probably why you came here."

"My lady, what shou-"

One of the warriors turned for directions from Vania, Werewolves nipping at Vamps as they slowly made their way through the Vampire army, but his eyes widened when he saw me, then a Wolf batted him like a fly and sent him flying across the clearing.

"Lovell, get out of here." Vania said, looking out at her troops, her jaw locked and tight. "You can't be here."

"But I _am._ I don't even know how I got here, besides the fact that I went to sleep. If I can't be here, then why am I? Why is any of this happening to _me?!_" I asked, knowing very well that hot tears were slipping from my eyes.

Vania's eyes were sharp and cold, taking on the hostile look of Daren's eyes. "Your right. Your as much a Vampire as anyone here. At least in your dreams. So mount up. We'll see what you've got." I felt my clothes change, and I was dressed in sort of the same stuff as her, but the back of the sweater was open, and cloth wrapped around my wrists and hands. I felt my tears being washed away as she stared me straight in the eye. No words needed to be said. It was simple.

_Fight._

She was gone in a blur, and Werewolves yelped in pain as she barged through them. All the Vampires yelled loud, empowered by their goddess and invigorated by the rain, and I knew I was, too. I only had to think about my body moving fast and strong, and it was done. I charged at the second Werewolf I'd seen, the one with the grey fur and white chest, and slammed him back, sending him through two trees and causing blood to seep through his fur. Vampires around turned to look, and I realized Vania was the only other one able to plow any of the creatures back that, that strong, that far. I could imagine myself blushing, but no heat rose to my cheeks, and I still stood strong and dignified, my hair sticking to my bare back and face.

A snarl tore from the Wolf's mouth, and he galloped forward, his limbs stretching so far and strong; it was so fast. But not fast enough. I outstretched my arms quickly, and met his huge forehead, stopping him as I slid back a foot, but stopping him none the less as blood trickled from his forehead.

I met his eyes and something clicked, I don't know what, but I lowered my hands and stepped back, staring at his eyes, those far too human to be beast eyes. He collapsed and whimpered, a heart breaking sound that I hated. I stepped back again and watched as Vampires swarmed, and there was nothing more, because I woke up.


	9. Chapter 9

Koda and Colorado and My Fleeting Sanity

Daren still hovered close to me, sensing my distress from my recent slumber, but I refused to let him probe my mind, using my mental force to block him out, imagining the candle creating a firewall to anyone who dares read me.

Why did those eyes break me so much? Was it because they were so human-like? What had really broken my heart was that whimper…it played my heart strings like a violin.

The whole group walked into the Colorado ski resort hotel's lobby, welcomed by a homey scent of hand knit blankets and baked cinnamon. I felt someone tug me away from Daren's side, dragging me to the front of the group.

"Isn't it amazing?" Matty squealed beside me, making me smile and laugh. "It's just so…cold here! I looooove it." She said, dramatically falling down on my side, causing me to almost kick a guy in the face when she pulled me down with her. The teachers/chaperones/stuck up adults were prepping the students, but no one cared to listen. When we were released, we stormed to the front desk and one by one, we were told what room we'd stay in, and, of course, it was girls only and boys only. They even went so far as to put them on opposite sides of the building.

_ You can do all you want, it wont make a difference!_ I thought mentally, rolling my eyes to myself, and I could _sense _the same vibe coming from Matty as she eyed her newly acquired boyfriend, Mark. I jabbed my elbow into her side and gave her a big don't-you-dare-look, but it was ruined by the grin that leaked across my face, contagious as it spread to hers.

"Don't worry, we wont do anything _too_ naughty." She skipped over to him and snuggled happily into his chest when he slung an arm around her. I watched and couldn't help but search the crowd for Daren immediately after.

"I said 'next!'" The lady at the counter grabbed my attention and Matty came back over, hooking an arm through mine. "You two can stay in room 609, left wing." She said, directing us to the hallway that led to the left side of the building, where female chaperones were organizing the luggage and handing it out to girls as they headed toward their rooms.

"That one's mine." Matty said, pointing to an over stuffed bag that had "Matty" etched all over it, obviously custom made. I pointed to a smaller duffle bag that I'd over used, but still couldn't stand to get rid of because it was the bag I'd used for summer camp, one of the best times in my life.

We walked down the hallway, where Rachel and a girl that had pretty brunette hair but was kind of plus sized were waiting for the elevator.

"Omigod!" Rachel exclaimed. "I can't believe we're really here! I can't wait to get to my room and then go check out the hot skiers." She said, waggling her eyebrows.

"Must I remind you that all the guys out there are going to be covered in three inches of layers?" Matty said sarcastically. "What about you, Kate? Gonna hit the slopes or the slopers?" She asked, directed towards the girl I'd never met before.

"I so wanna try skiing!" Kate said, her eyes lighting. "Although, I'll probably need extra protection…" She said, placing one finger on her chin and looking off into the distance. I giggled, along with Matty and Rachel. Then there was a _ding!_ And the elevator came to stop in front of us as we quickly shuffled inside, ready to start our brand new adventure! Faaaantasstic…

Matty sat on the floor, leaning against the side of my bed, as she painted her nails, toe to finger.

"So, after this you're gonna come to the slopes with me, right?" She asked, and I plopped my book on my lap, staring at her in astonishment. Maybe she didn't know me well, but that was a _horrible_ idea.

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, _no_. That would most definitely end in broken limbs and tears." I said, shaking my head and placing my book back in front of my nose. "I mean, _me_ on three inch wide pieces of plastic, trying to keep my balance while going down a snowy mountain side at twenty plus miles an hour, oh such a _bad_ idea."

"You can't be that bad on skis, especially since you've never even tried before. And besides, you could just go out for the snow, ya know? Grab a hot cocoa and go out, and when the rest of us call it quits, we'll join you." She said, shaking her hair over one shoulder so it was out of her eyes. "Its like a winter wonderland out there, and you shouldn't miss it."

I rolled my eyes, having experienced it before and not needing to freeze my butt off again. But the cold didn't effect me like others; I'd always had a resistance to it, probably because of my Vampire… well, Vamps didn't technically have genetic blood, they just had other animals' blood…well, whatever you could call it, gift from Vania, traits from my parents, yada yada yada. Realizing that I was completely drifting, I shook my head and said, "I don't think I'd enjoy just sitting around in the cold, Matty. But I guess, maybe, I could join up with you guys when you were done." I said, rolling the idea around in my mind, guessing that if they wanted, I could find them at one of the picnic tables at the foothills.

"Aww, cmon! You could help me get into those boots and stuff, cuz I'll definitely require some help." She begged, her eyes reflecting the light of the little bedside lamp in the room. I looked at her but I didn't like that I was always so easily swayed by her, her begging getting to me eventually and causing me to crack. Of course, she left her pride behind, so I suppose it was a fair trade.

"Fine, I'll go. But I'll probably go into the woods where they have those boardwalks so I can read. You can call me when you guys are done and tell me if your sick of the snow or not." I said, dog-earing the page I was on and setting it on the nightstand near my twin sized bed. The room was a standard one, with a kitchen sink and (surprisingly) a microwave in the same room that had two twins and a TV, then off to the side there was one of those bathrooms that siblings usually shared, with the bath/shower thingy and one sink. I walked into the bathroom, and was surprised by the coldness of the tiled floor on my bare feet, letting a squeal out as I stepped back onto the thick carpet of the main room, then going back onto the tile as I let my feet adjust.

"So you'll really come?" Matty asked, coming up behind me in the mirror, with a pair of socks snuggly hugging her feet.

"Yup. But no skis for me." I confirmed, only touching up my mascara and eyeliner before turning towards Matty and placing my hands on her shoulders. "Trust me, sports that require any real grace or balance will end badly for me."

I walked back into the big room, letting my toes burrow into the fluffy carpet again, then walked to my duffle and pulled on two more sweaters and tugged my plush filled boots on to my feet.

"Are you kidding me? Your so graceful and smooth, I'm much more of a klutz then you." She said, belly flopping on to her bed and making it shake.

I peered at her, distinctly remembering my old friends always saying that I was such a klutz, always falling and tripping over myself. But, come to think of it, I hadn't even tripped once since my parents were killed. Not even when police prodded me into the station and my legs felt like jello.

_Ohhh, that's weird._ I thought, biting my lip and twisting my hair as I thought about it, looking for proof that part of me hadn't changed, that something about me was still the same. Nope, hadn't fallen in a while or, for that matter, done anything stupid or klutzy…except around Daren, and that sooo did not count. I thudded on to my bed in defeat, thinking about how much I'd changed, if I was at all like I used to be.

_I'm not the same…_I knew it was true, that I was changing with this Vampire stuff, with my parents' death, with the move, but mostly the Vampire stuff. I thought about my recent dream, the Werewolf that was probably dead. And I was to blame. I closed my eyes, thinking that would make it better, but all I could see were those yellow, luminescent eyes that were too human, and I choked. I felt tears streaming down my face.

_Traitor tears._ I threw my hair down over my head, creating a wall from the outside world, from the normal stuff, just enveloping myself in my guilt.

"Lovell, are you okay?" Matty said, and I felt her weigh down the bed beside me. I felt her arm around my shoulders, tugging me closer to her. "Seriously, are you okay?" She stuck her hand under my veil of hair just in time to catch a salty tear, and I cried harder, my vision blurring but remaining silent, the only give-aways being my jerking chest and the wet dots on my jeans. She held me closer and I leaned in, my sobs becoming audible as all I could see through my tears were those eyes, human and beast, but undeserving to be killed.

_Why me? Why did I have to kill him? Why do I have to change like this? What's wrong with me?_ The questions revolved around in my head, one leading to the next, leaving no room for my sanity.

"Lovell? Tell me, you know I'm here for you." She was wrong. She couldn't be there for me now, there wasn't any possibility. My problems wouldn't make sense to her, and why would she believe me? I had no proof of it, and it also just _didn't _happen. I breathed in and out, stuffing my sobs back down my throat and wiping my eyes clean of tears as Matty pulled my hair behind my ears and got rid of mascara lines with a tissue. "So, what is it?" She said softly, bringing her arm back to her side and waiting as I stopped the hiccups of sobs that still bounced around in my chest. I looked up at her, ready to say something that would be good enough and get her to lay off, but her eyes were so bright, yet sad and they had, just for a split second, knowledge and magick, but it was gone so quickly all I was left with was a sense that I could tell her anything. She was my true friend.

"I have problems, Matty." I said, putting my face in my hands. "It's just… everything."

"Like…the move?" She asked.

"Yeah, that's part of it." I agreed, nodding my head.

"Why exactly did you move, I mean, one day you didn't exist and the next day you one of the prettiest girls in the school."

"My parents…" I started, knowing I needed to just tell her. "They were killed and I got interrogated and everything, then I got a new guardian, this guy I'd never met, his name is Jason, and I don't even know what happened to my parents, who did it, nobody's telling me anything, and its just - its crap!" I shouted, standing and just standing, not knowing what to do, just knowing that I felt a little better. I turned and looked at Matty, seeing her wide eyes that were filled with even more sadness and pity, but also freaked. I sat back down on the bed, right next to her. "I just…its so frustrating because its all new and I can't do anything about it, I had to just leave everything." I shook my head and grabbed my sweater. "Never mind. Your ready, right? Lets go."

"Lovell, before you get going, I just want to tell you that, even though you may not want to talk about it or anything, I'll always be someone you can talk to." Matty explained, her ski goggles threatening to drop over her eyes and hers skis under her arm. I nodded, my eyes stinging with tears but unwilling to show them. "Even for the ridiculous stuff, mkay?" All I could do was nod again, my throat blocked up with a big lump that was probably my heart. She smiled and turned and at the last second I blurted, "Thanks so much Matty." She waved it off over her shoulder, making me smile as I turned and walked towards the boardwalk that wound through the snowy woods.

People walked past me on my way down the wooden structure, chatting with one another as I kept my hands in my pockets and lingered, looking at the landscape. Matty had been right, it was like a winter wonderland here. Snowflakes still fluttered in the wind and landed on the ground, slowly creating big piles, but staff members with shovels went along, scraping the snow piles off the side of the walk and into the wild woods. I walked for a long time, figuring I'd be able to find my way back, nice and easy, just following the big main branch. I focused on my boots as they went in and out of my vision, and I became so absorbed that I ran right into someone. I fumbled back and almost fell, but the stranger's arms grasped mine and pulled me back to my feet, over estimating how much force it would take and tugging me so much that I had to put my hands out flat against his chest to keep from banging into him.

"Whoa, you okay?" I looked up and saw a guy with a gorgeous tan and brown hair that was cut in a messy way that made hair fall in front of his incredibly warm brown eyes. My breath caught in my throat, his eyes enticing and breath taking, but somehow similar.

"Your from my school." I said laLovelly. I thought I'd seen him somewhere in our school, that was the only place I could have seen him. But his face was so memorable, and he was filled in with a tall frame built of muscle. Not that I'd stared, but he was a pretty face. I closed my eyes and tried to start again. "Um, sorry. That I bumped into you – that's what I meant…" I trailed off, his brown eyes so deep, I felt lost in them.

"Yeah, it was my fault, I wasn't looking." He said, not letting go of my arms.

"No, I wasn't looking. I was walking and I just, um, bumped into you. Well, more like crashed but-" I stopped myself, wondering why I was so tongue tied.

He chuckled, a nice warm sound that filled the air around us. "I'm pretty sure that it was my fault you almost fell."

"Yeah, but you're the one that caught me, so I still can say thanks." I retorted, wriggling my arms out of his grasp and stuffing my hands into the pocket of my jacket.

"Ah, but if it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have even started to fall." He said, stepping closer. It was weird. Heat came off of him like cold came off of Daren, which made him like a furnace. The cold air from behind threatened to push me closer to him, just to be warm, but I resisted the urge to hug him.

"Uh, yeah, I guess." I murmured, looking at his eyes and feeling my words escape, no thoughts in my mind, just how warm he was, how mind boggling his eyes were.

"Besides, I'm not from your school, not Haver High." He said, and shrugged, then walked around me. Before I knew what I was doing, I wrapped a hand around his wrist, then pulled away in a flash when it was so warm. Not hot, but definitely warmer then most people.

"Are you okay?" I asked, turning and looking at him. I realized that the angles in his face were Cherokee, but his face wasn't flushed or anything, he looked fine.

"Yeah, I am. But are you okay? You're really cold…well, colder then other people's hands get in this weather." He said, covering my hand with both of his and eyeing me carefully. I retracted my hand, freaking out. Did it mean I was changing (more!)?

"I'm okay." I said, not liking it one bit. I turned and started jogging, all the way to the end of the walkway, hearing his heavy footfalls behind me.

"Hey! Are you sure your okay?"

_Sure? I'm not sure of anything anymore!_ I searched the woods in front of me, wondering what I was supposed to do now. But the guy's hands were on my shoulders and heat came off him more and more, and I started feeling sick, like I would throw up, although I'd barely eaten at all. Then I was really thirsty, his heat overwhelming and my mouth working up saliva. I tried to breathe but it sounded short and shallow, not enough. Things started to spin around me and I started to lean towards the edge of the rail, but the guy's arms grabbed my shoulders, and in the distance I could hear him trying to get me to wake up, but the whole scene faded to black before I could respond.


	10. Chapter 10

Waking Up

"Lovell!" I could hear it, really far away, like every sound had to work its way through a haze. I opened my eyes and everything was really blurry, but then it came into focus. I was in one of those hospital bed thingies, with white cotton sheets covering my body and when I moved, I felt only my T-shirt and undies on my body. I looked around and saw Matty, Josh, Rachel, Cory, and Brown Eyes all around my bed with Matty and Cory crying, leaving a wet patch of cloth. Rachel was turned away and I could see she was wiping away relentless tears as she talked to a nurse while Brown Eyes talked to another one. Josh was leaning on the bed, his arms in a prayer position, only his hands were holding his head. I still felt woozy, but a whole lot better then when I'd started blacking out. Really thirsty though.

"Can I have some water?" I asked, my voice sounding a little raspy, but otherwise fine. Everyone's head snapped up, all staring at me.

"LOVELL!" They all said, united, as they leaned over the rails of the bed, wrapping their arms around me and squishing me close, and I laughed, but it stopped when I saw Daren behind them, sitting in the chair, eyes black and hardened, staring straight ahead, his jaw clenched tight. The nurse shoed them away and stared wide eyed at me, then flicked the monitor nearby, which I hadn't realized, had one long straight line across the screen.

_Dead. I'm dead._ I thought, my eyes staring at the screen as the nurse flicked the monitor and instantly, the natural pattern of _beep-beep!_ took its place. I sighed and sunk back into the pillows. The equipment had just failed, I wasn't dead. I breathed in and out, liking that my chest raised and fell, normal and alive. Daren stared at the monitor, and so did everyone else.

"Oh, Lovell! We thought you were dead! Like in the movies when the monitor thing just goes beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep." Cory said, tears pouring out of his eyes.

"Hmph, this old stuff needs to be replaced." The nurse mumbled, and nobody seemed to notice except me. She walked out of the room with a clipboard in hand.

"So, you told me you were okay." Brown Eyes said, eyes boring into mine.

"I thought I was." I said, and replayed those moments where my body started to feel crappy, then when I blacked out. "So, can I have some water?"

"I'll get it." Josh said, getting up and walking out of the room. I watched him go, normal as ever, glad I didn't die, and still awkward. I let my head fall back on the pillows. If I was dead, it was a pretty bad experience. I mean, there was sposed to be that white light and stuff, but me? Poof. Not that I even died, but, whatever.

I looked at Matty and she was still crying. "Matty? You okay?" She looked up and laughed, but it was pained.

"Am I okay? Lovell, you're the one who was in a coma for the past two days. Are _you_ okay?" She said, smiling weakly. "But I guess I'm not. Its just that…I didn't think you deserved to die after… everything." She said, looking down at her shoes for the last part.

I looked back at her, watching as she looked down at her shoes regretfully, tears still flowing but not as much as before. She looked so vulnerable and broken, but it was my weight to carry, not hers just because I told her my problems.

"Matty…I'm not dead, right? So stop looking so damn sad." I said, and looked her straight in the eye, my gaze unwavering. Her eyes were wide and open, her mouth open as if she wanted to protest, but I held her gaze, wanting her to get it. These things _weren't_ her problems. They were mine alone and if I wanted pity, I'd make it known. I was probably going to change a lot after the whole Vampire mojo stuff, but then I'd just let go. Matty…Matty didn't deserve a suckish friend like me.

She closed her mouth and her eyes became determined, and she looked at me with a stronger gaze as tears still flowed steadily down her cheeks.

"You got it." She said, so I let my line of sight drift away from her, and I saw that everyone else was starting to wipe up their tears and stop sulking. I closed my eyes and seeped deeper into the bedding of the hospital gurney.

_Why did I have to black out here, after I told Matty…?_

"By the way, my name's Koda." Brown Eyes said, making me open my eyelids and look at him again.

"Yeah?" I responded, then paused before saying, "Thanks for chasing me, so I didn't black out in the middle of nowhere with no one around…" I trailed off, thinking about what could've happened.

He looked at me curiously and then just shook whatever it was off. "It's alright, I guess. I mean, your okay and everything…" He said, and gave me that same stumped look again, and I felt like I was being analyzed, like it was some sort of test. Then he looked away and relaxed more into his chair.

_She looks li…grann…book shop…_ I stopped looking at him and turned away, just kind of knowing that those were his thoughts. Insane, insane, insane, insane, very, very insane. Was I going insane or was I already insane, just having a hallucination in a psycho house? Did the people around me exist, or was I seriously messed up? Did my parents even die?!

"Hellooooo?" Matty waved her hand in front of my face, her eyes big and wide, in a curious and questioning type of way. "Mizzz Lovell, you need some coffee or something. I was saying that the nurse told us earlier if you woke up, you could go home today." She closed her eyes and tilted her head, a soothing smile on her face as her hair fell with gravity off her shoulders.

"Am I sane?" I asked, looking at her plainly as she opened her eyes and put a finger on her lip and her mouth made a perfect little "o."

"I don't know, I mean I'm not your psychiatrist. But you seem okay to me, besides your day dreams, which I imagine is normal for a person who just came out of a coma." She smiled a big grin, and resigned back to her chair instead of leaning over my bed. "Going home would make you feel better."

"It would make all of us feel better, really, to be home instead of here in the cold." Cory piped up. "And I bet they haven't told Jason yet," he leaned closer and continued, in a lower tone. "If we hurry up and get out of here, they won't contact him in time."

I was already up and walking.


	11. Chapter 11

Markings Are Crap

I thought about Koda when I drove home, particularly the thoughts I knew I overheard, and I'd tried to piece them together. I was pretty sure that there was something about me looking like someone else, a store, and something like grandma or granny. But I always ended up kicking myself for thinking about him, feeling something kinda off about him, like why he was so warm, like Daren's opposite. I was on the homestretch of road that led to the house when I looked down at the speedometer and saw that I was (very unnaturally) going 80 something.

_Slow down. Slow down, slow down, SLOW DOWN._ I forced myself to ease away from the gas, annoyed with the slow crawl it reduced me to and sweating on my forehead with the control I had to use to make myself stay at the normal speed of thirty. I slowly rolled onto the driveway and got out of the car, stretching my stiff back and pulling my arms loose from the extra sweater I'd kept on because of the frigid airport AC. I grabbed my bag out of the car and slung it over my shoulder before locking it up and heading towards the French doors on the front porch.

I walked inside and tossed my bag to the side, where it leaned against a wall.

"Jason? I'm home!" I called out and clambered up the stairs, then walked down the hall, peeking in each of the rooms until I saw a leg hanging off the end of the couch in the loft. I walked in and slowly crept around the edge with the limp legs.

Jason was sprawled out on the couch, a little stream of spit coming out of his mouth as he took deep, sleepy breaths. I smiled, walked over to the bar, and grabbed a Pepsi out of the fridge, popping the top and taking a swig.

_Ah, sweet carbonated sugar water._ I went over and poked Jason in the stomach, watching as he shifted but didn't wake up.

"Heeeey Jason," I crooned in a low voice. "I'm hooome."  
His eyes fluttered and before I knew it, I was swept from the ground as he moved in one fluid motion to his feet, grabbing me in a huge bear hug at the same time. I fought to balance the can of soda against the swirling motions.

"You're back, kiddo!" He said, and I choked out a feeble "Yup!" in spite of the crushing force of his hug.

I think my head started to loll off to the side or something, because Jason dropped me like a hot potato and just ruffled my hair.

"You didn't miss me, did you?" I asked and watched as he chuckled and said, "Of course I did!"

I smiled up at him and thought about how nice that sounded. I wondered what he did all this time, although he probably had friends; actually, I knew he did. He hung out with them every know and then, and I'd met one girl with long dark hair and big eyes that was a coworker from his job. But if you ask me, there was more going on. (hint-hint.)

"Anyways, I'm gonna go unpack." I said, and walked out of the room and up the stairs to the third floor. I slid into my room and plopped down on the bed, head in my hands.

_Headache…bad headache._ It kicked in so quickly, I was kind of nauseated from it. I laid down on the bed and curled up, my bag still sitting by my dresser, expecting me to go and unpack it like I'd said I would. But I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to ignore it.

Within a couple of minutes, my head was pulsing and I moved quickly into the bathroom, found Tylenol in the medicine cabinet, and popped two into my mouth, chasing them down with a couple gulps of water. The buzzing and pain dulled and resigned, but it kinda still hurt when I craned my head to the left. In fact, it _really hurt._ It was like someone was sticking a needle in me right behind my ear. I slowly and carefully put away my clothes, mentally recording how much easier it got to set off the pain just by barely looking to the left.

_Could it be from the accident in Colorado?_ I thought, and my mind was suddenly racing with all the horrible scenarios. What if Koda hadn't caught me and I'd fallen down and fractured my neck? Or if this was some sort of disease that effected my neck? I rubbed my hand across it, stumbling on something that felt kind of like brail. It was raised, and I might have thought that it was just a breakout, but it was really precise and it didn't feel oily. Not to mention the jabbing pain that happened when I touched it. I returned to the bathroom and since I couldn't really move my neck, I grabbed a mirror an tilted it just right like at the salon so I could see the back of my head and neck.

And there it was. The dots weren't all that was there, but also bluish black lines connected the dots, making this pattern that had lacy lines over crossing each other with feathery wings coming out from the tangle of elegance.

_Oh my god…_ I didn't think much more before the marking pulsed and I hurt all over, sliding to the bathroom floor.

"Ah! Stop, please…" I whimpered, bowing my head and gripping the marking with both hands, although that just caused more pain. I slumped and I hoped that Jason didn't come in, since this definitely wasn't something for him to handle.

_It has to be something with this vampire stuff!_ I winced and crumpled further to the ground as the pain rang more throughout my body. It was like a jackhammer was in my head and I'd just ran a marathon and then got beat up by pro wrestlers. I hauled myself over to the tub and leaned against it. Trying to concentrate on not screaming, on not passing out.

Passing out probably would have been better compared to the pain, but I really felt the need to stay conscious and to make it through this.

_But someone…can someone please help…_ I heard rummaging on the other side of the bathroom door, and I actually tried to scramble to my feet, but there was no way in hell that I was moving that much. I could hear my heart speed up. What if it was Jason? It could only be Jason, duh. I held my breath as the door handle turned, the metal sliding against metal and scratching my nerves.

_Its okay, Lovell. It's only me._ I exhaled my entrapped breath as Daren walked in, a placid smile on his face and dressed in jeans and a white T-shirt. I knew my hair was matted and that my forehead was glazed in sweat, but he still sat down next to my on the floor and pulled me close, gently handling my body so that the pain didn't spike again. He cradled my head close to his chest and draped his cold arm along the side of my body. I breathed deeper and tried to ignore the pain, blocking it out best I could but failing miserably.

_You can sleep if you want to._ He 'said,' his dark eyes soft and rich as he looked down at me with sincerity.

"That's okay." I said, voice raspy with pain. I closed my eyes, and, apparently, I'm a hypocrite.

I said I was a hypocrite since I fell asleep anyways as soon as I closed my eyes. Now, I was at the shrine place in my dream again, and this time, it was night and the moon in Vania's hands glowed like the crescent above. I was sitting with my legs sprawled out under me, and rows of people formed a human path in front of me, all of them standing with dark cloaks over their skin, the hoods casting shadows over their eyes.

Daren was next to me, kneeled down with his arm draped over my shoulders. He was staring straight ahead, no expression, but his eyes weren't rich and warm anymore; they were replaced by onyx hard, cold eyes.

And it still hurt so much. I gripped the spot again, which was on the slope of my shoulder and neck. It almost felt like it was burning, and I could feel that the bumps were going down. I tilted my head up and saw Vania with a long white robe that looked like layered gossamer with a white cotton hood thrown over her dark hair.

She walked towards me with her eyes shaded, too, the moonlight blocked by her cloak.

_Damn it, what more can I go through?_ She jerked my chin up and her hand glided directly to the marking, sending jabbing pain through my body. I crumpled and fell, and I could feel Daren move beside me, his body briskly standing up.

"Don't, protector." Vania said, and Daren stepped back. I waited for him to say something but it occurred to me that Vania was a goddess, what could he really do?

But it hurt really bad, and I was close to crying. Vania's hand stayed on it, and it kept on becoming more painful. She looked somehow frustrated, and the more her face got like that, the more the mark stung and ached and burned and throbbed. The second I realized she was making it worse, tore her hand away from me and shrieked "Stop!"

I arched my head and my hair fell like a curtain around my face. Sweat and tears dripped off my nose and chin as several hands slammed me back onto the ground, like I'd just assaulted the President. I tried to fight back, but the pain and the tears blurring my vision made it impossible, and I'd figured out quickly that the hooded figures were Vampires, not just people. I screamed out, my mark brushing and banging against the ground as they tethered me to the ground with their hands and arms.

"Shhh." Vania tried to soothe, but I never stopped screaming as she rested her hand on the stupid, cursed, _stupid_ mark. I repeatedly tried to thrash and punch my way out, but these Vamps were stronger then body builders, and they had every strong point of my body hooked to the ground, and I felt like I was choking on other people's breath.

The pain reached its peek and I screamed, hurting my own ears and spitting out the last of my vocal energy into that sound breaking cry. Another cool hand rested on mine and I knew instinctively that it was Daren. But I also knew he couldn't do anything. He had to obey, had to listen to what a goddess said.

So I kept on thrashing with my own strength, never running out of energy, not growing tired. I could actually feel the hands restraining me moving millimeters back and forth as I attacked them again and again. But it didn't make a difference; they were far, far stronger then me.

"Please stop, Lovell." Vania said, but I refused I kept throwing my arms and twisting my torso, unwilling to give in. "Listen to me. Just look at the moon and calm yourself."

I kept on fighting even after glimpsing at the moon, but I was kind of losing my will to resist, because for all I could tell the pain wasn't getting better or worse. But something still nagged me to stop them. There was nothing right about this, not the dark cloaked people, not Vania, and not what they were doing.

And if I thought the pain was bad at that moment, the next moment I would've passed out, if I hadn't already been asleep. I could feel the burning pain in the one place suddenly spiral out of control, and the burning lines seared across my body, leaving the lacy patterns across my skin.

Vania's eyes narrowed and she pulled back her hand and it looked as though she was going to draw it across my face. I cringed and just barely caught the glimpse of something white and feathery before I slammed into reality like a train running over my body.

I slammed up right in bed, white sheets fluffing into the air around me, but I immediately stumbled out of bed and tried to move towards the bathroom, but the sheets wrapped around my ankles and I fell to the ground, tears already slipping down my cheeks. I felt sore, all over, but mildly compared to that reality-dream-epiphany-blackout-thing. That was over, right? But it had to have been something significant – no matter what the dream was, I never felt pain like that. After all, I knew for a fact that I had seen the mark before I fell asleep, and I also knew that Daren had been sitting with me on the bathroom floor.

But, despite what I know happened and I saw, my room was dark, I was in my pajamas, and my world was spinning. I staggered to my feet and lurched towards the bathroom, dragging the sheet with me, using it to swipe away tears from my face. I nudged the door open and stood in front of the mirror, afraid to lift the smaller mirror and see if the mark was there.

I kept on warring with both sides of my head, the _look and see!_ side progressively reasoning that if it was there, it confirmed everything that I thought I experienced and proved to _myself_ that I wasn't insane or delusional or whatever.

_Just look!_

_If I look, I could breakdown!_

_ Like you're not broken already!_

_ At least I'm trying to be reasonable and logical!_

_ Are you kidding? You're insane!_

_ Take it back!_

_ No!_

"Just shut up!" I screamed, lifting the mirror and spotting it instantly, the dark marking with the overlapping lines and wings bursting from the rambles of lines. I wanted to slap myself, then go back to bed. But I couldn't just go back to sleep, not with the hysteria I was experiencing and not with that last 'dream' still fresh in my mind.

I went and sat down on the balcony, the dim lit land so much more serene than my twisting stomach. I rubbed my nose with the sleeve of my shirt and then laid on my side, right there on the freezing metal balcony.

At seven thirty in the morning, I got out of my room and edged down the stairs. In the kitchen, there was a post it on the microwave door that was from Jason.

Morning, sleepyhead.. I left early this morning because something came up at work. See ya later.

I put the note in the trash and rummaged in the fridge for something to eat, since I knew I would feel hungry if I wasn't engrossed in my problems. I squished peanut butter and jam between bread and poured some milk, then went out the back door to the small courtyard that had a couple wild flowers growing behind foot high brick walls. I sat down on the brick wall and stretched my legs out across the walkway.

I looked down at the sloppy sandwich and was transported back to the first time I met Matty at lunch. She'd agreed with me that PB&Js were an ingenious invention. Now she'd become the only person that knew _anything_. Anything of significance, at least.

I ate the sandwich and swished the milk around in my mouth before swallowing.

I had to get out of the house today. I was gonna get my ass outta here, away from my bedroom, and do something else besides wonder.


	12. Chapter 12

UGGGGH! Why meee!

I walked away from my car, parked in a diner lot. I walked down one of the Oviedo streets, with chickens ducking in and out of traffic. I wasn't really sure where I was going, until I saw the little bookstore with no name down the road.

I went up the steps and through the door, the scent of all the books and herbal things beating my stress level down in an instant.

"Lovell?" I whirled around and saw Koda, standing by a bookshelf, a book slipping out of his fingers, and his eyes wide as he looked at me.

"H-hi...Koda." I stuttered, feeling terribly uncomfortable under his shocked gaze an– _boof!_ The book that was slipping from his fingers hit the ground, and it shook both of us out of our freeze.

"Ah, my bad." He said, scrambling to get the book from the floor, but the rest of the books under his arm slipped and fell to the floor. I moved and gathered them, handing them to him as he stood up. We both tried to stand straight at the same time, and I bonked heads with him.

"Ow!" We said in unison, and then both took a step back, banging into shelves. I winced when my hip hit the corner of the shelf behind me and Koda kept me from falling again.

"Sorry, I'm really sorry." I muttered, my face burning as Koda set the books on an empty shelf. "I-I should've been more careful."

"Nah, it's my fault." He said.

"No, its my fault!" I stated, and I wanted really bad to stomp my foot, but my cheeks were already red. "This definitely was not your fault. Don't try to blame it on yourself again." I felt kinda dumb, but it set me off, how he always took the blame.

He chuckled and shook his head, his brown hair swishing. "Fine, fine. What are you here for?" He asked, walking towards the register.

I trailed behind him and said, "Killing time. But what are you doing here? Working, none the less."

"My grandma owns the store." He said, eyeing me. I could practically see the gears turning in his head. "I think my grandma told me about you. Yeah, she definitely did."

"I've come here before. Once. Granny gave me a free reading." I said, and turned to fiddle with some of the stone jewelry on a display. "She's nice."

"Uh-huh. Yours was the weird one about big change and danger." He peered at me from the side. "Isn't your life action-y."

"Humph. You haven't got a clue." I muttered.

"I was kidding. Usually people who get bad readings change them." He said, casting a mildly worried glance in my direction. But that alone was too much.

"I've gotta go." I swiveled and made a move for the door, but Koda managed to get a grip on my jacket.

"You always seem to leave right when I start worrying." He said, and started to spin me around. "Don't you think tha-" But he was cut off short when in mid-spin, my lips landed incredulously on his.

_Whoa! Is this a…kiss?_ His thought was so abrupt and surprised that I was able to hear it. That, and I was thinking the exact same thing. We pulled away at the same time and spun around, unable to face each other, yet thinking the same thing. _Did that just happen?!_ I touched my mouth and it distinctly tingled where his lips touched mine.

"I-I-I'm so s-sorry!" I whispered, still turned away from him.

"Ha ha!" He laughed, and I turned around. He was facing me, and smiled when he said, "Nope, this one's my mistake."

I sat across from Koda at a table that was set up in the store. He'd cleared the book display that was there earlier, and now we were both drinking this herbal tea he'd made on a stove in the back.

"So, you're just killing time? Nothing to do at your house?" He asked.

"More like I had to escape from my house." I said, stirring my tea and watching the herbs spin around. "I didn't really have anything else to do, so when I saw this place again, I thought I'd just come in and read books for a while."

"Why'd you have to get out of your house?" he asked. And we were back to the reason I wanted to leave.

"Stuff." I said, monotone, unmoved, and unwilling to let any hint of disturbance creep out.

He looked me right in the eye, and said, "Tell me the truth."

"I don't know what you're talking about!" I cried out, standing abruptly and knocking my chair to the floor. Sweat was making my back sticky and my heart kept speeding up.

_Damn it, why can't I lie to him?!_ I started to walk away.

"It's no skin off my back if you don't tell me. But you may go insane, I'm just saying." I peered at him over my shoulder, and he was leaning back in the chair, his feet propped on the table, and his hands entwined behind his head. "Cool marking."

My hand instantly went to my shoulder, and I somehow knew exactly where it was, even thought there was no way I could actually feel it. But my gut told me that it was definitely right where my hand was.

But that left me at a standstill. Did I say it was tattoo and get the hell out of there? Or did I finally let someone know?

I knew that I wasn't supposed to tell anyone, call it general intuition. But, my heart was so sick and tired of holding in everything. I just stood there, one foot heading towards the door, one foot pointed towards my knocked over chair. Against my heart's will, I turned away from him and the welcoming table.

"I'm sorry. Again." Maybe I was saying it to myself.

I was still walking down the street, as far away from my car as possible. As far away from Koda. For now. What was it about him that made my tongue tied, and made it so I couldn't lie for my life around him? I looked through the windows at the stuff in shops, but then focused on my reflection in the glass. Crap. I looked like complete and utter crap. Like a doggy turd.

_Koda's probably ashamed he "kissed" me._ I dragged my fingers through my long hair and soothed the frizz, and then used my finger nail to scratch the crud off my teeth. I walked into one of the shops and asked "Where's the bathroom?" they pointed and I went and washed my face, satisfied with the nicer, cleaner look. My cell phone buzzed and I whipped it out, holding it to my ear.

"Who is it?" I asked, walking out of the bathroom.

"Hey, Lovell, it's Matty." She chimed, her peppy tone completely ineffective on me. "Whatchyadoin?CuzI'mwalkingdownthestreet,reallyboredoutofmy mind."

"Jesus Christ, Matty. Slow down your chitter chatter. So you're walking down the street, bored out of your mind. I'm in a store, just using the bathroom."

"Oh." She said, letting silence hang on the phone. "So you're busy?"

"Yeah."

"Um, okay. What're you doing later?"

"I don't know."

"Ya know, you're really a downer. Do you ever plan to do anything?"

"Not really…I'm pretty much floating through the day."

"So…you're not actually busy."

"I guess. Just occupied."

"Oh, wel-"

"Do you need something Matty?" I snapped, my voice clipped.

"I just thought that maybe you wanted to do something."

"Not today. I'm-" I cut myself off, freaking tired of saying sorry, sorry, sorry. "Look, Matty, I'm not trying to push you off, its just I gotta lot of shit in my life right now."

"Yeah… I get it." She murmured. I knew she did.

"Thank you, Matty." I clicked end and started walking down the street again. She got it, I knew she did. If there was anything in my life I could understand at the moment, it was that Matty was able to get me…to an emotional extent.

I walked for another mile, and then turned around, knowing that there was nothing left to see, and nothing more to do. I got in my truck and slammed the door, bashing my head on the steering wheel, not caring when people turned and stared at the car that kept honking; the windows are tinted anyways.

"Why me?!" I screamed, my face contorting into anguish. I angrily pulled out of my space and gunned it down the road, swerving through the trees and returning to my home, stomping up the stairs and throwing myself onto my bed. Sobs shook my world.

For a while I had this cool dream where I was sitting in my old room, feet propped on my littered desk as my stereo blasted Green Day, Bowling for Soup, and Offspring into the air, the waves visible and my ears ringing. After a little Green Day, my dream self was dancing around the room like a tard and laughing my ass off. But then my old room disintegrated and dropped my dream self into a familiar place.

The statue (SIGH!) was lit by the moonlight, crescent moon, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH. Vania was standing ten feet in front of us, stone faced and glaring at me. I glared back at her, daring her to do something. Kill me, fine. It's a dream. Prophetic, creepily realistic, dream, but yeah, who the hell cares when you've been through the shit I have? I decided that I wanted my music to play, and Bowling for Soup, High School Never Ends blared from the forest.

Now, I realize that I was acting vulgar and unnecessarily bitchy, cursing, but I _was_ insanely tired (still), and her screwing up my sleep and bringing me here after the things that happened last time didn't put me in a "pleasant" mood. I could already feel the mark stinging and my body really started to ache.

The dark robed Vamps lined the area again, and I swear I almost sighed out loud. I made the song play even louder, closed my eyes, and let the music wrap around me until it felt like a snug layer. I felt the music running through me and started giggling a lot.

"Quiet!" Vania screamed, but I only faintly heard it through the music. The other Vamps instantly advanced when I didn't obey.

I snickered, before they came back again and forced my hands behind my back, as I started to bob my head with the beat again and let them hold me as Vania moved at the speed of light and placed her hand on the mark again. But this time I thought about how the music seemed to make them flinch and wince from the ridiculous volume. I started spiraling into uncontrollable laughter.

_Serious matter, very serious matter!_ But the laughter just bubbled up again and overflowed. And it didn't hurt. The more Vania's brows furrowed together, the more frustration I could see on her face, and the less my mark stung. I just kept laughing, over flowing, and eventually my stomach was hurting and I was crying, and I loved the noise that stung my ears.

I skipped the songs from artist to artist, deciding to play the most uplifting songs, or the most ridiculous. I kept giggling, snickering, and laughing, and crying.

"Hee-hee! Ha, ha, ha!" I cackled, biting my lip and then I spoke up. "If – heh heh – you want me to go along with this…it would be good if I knew what the hell you were doing!" I fought to speak straight and Vania gave me this just plain dagger, won't-you-just-die look. I laughed even harder, uncontrollably, and I might have spit on her face, but who knows, since I also decided to wake up.

I sat up and bit my lip, desperately trying to stop giggling. I breathed deep, and it slowly subsided.

_What was that all about?_ I said, snickering to myself about how pissed Vania had looked. I moved to get out of bed and my leg bumped into…a bird.

"Kyah!" it said before fluttering up to my shoulder.

"A…bird?" I asked myself, even though it was very plain that's what it was. Suddenly I freaked and tried to swat it away, but it just dodged and rested next to me. It was small and only about six inches long and had a short, pointed beak. It had an array of white, black and brown feathers, and it was actually really cute, since it was fluffy and it had black eyes that looked intelligent.

It fluttered over to my stereo system and pecked at things until Greenday and other songs that were in my dream.

_Okay, nooow the bird makes a little more sense…and less…_I giggled started dancing. The bird fluttered around through the air in tune to the beat and I laughed really hard as it tweeted with the song. The doorbell rang and I jumped and ran down the stairs, since Jason wasn't there. I was still giggling…

Oh, did I forget? Jason's sleeping over at a friend's house. Called me. That's what'd woken me up. I hadn't gotten it on the first dial, but he called again and he told me.

Aaaaanyways, I swung open the door and Daren was there. He looked tired. Not that it surprised me.

"Whoa. What're you doing here? It's two in the morning. Sleep much?" I asked, bubbly, smiling slightly, so not normal for two a.m.

"I came to see you, of course. And no, I don't really sleep a whole lot. Maybe one hour?" He said, shrugging. "Anyways, I could here the music a mile away. What're you doing up this late?"

"I see, must be Vampire stuff…anyways, it's a verrry long story. Well, maybe; not so much. I dunno. What's the longest story you've ever heard?"

"Maybe a day's worth of some old geezer talking about themselves. So, I'm guessing your story isn't nearly as long. A penny for your thoughts?"

"Fine. C'mon." I said walking towards the stairs. I didn't hear him behind me, spun around and he was still standing at the door. "Um…c'mon…please?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You bought that little black book. If you've read the first couple of chapters you'd know that Vamps have to be cordially invited into an abode." He said, his dark eyes staring at me.

"Right, um, come in and follow me." I said, and then moved to the stairs, flying up them a little faster then usual.

_Okay, how do I do this?_ I stood in front of the door, thinking about what I should do, how I should explain.

"Guilty conscious?" he whispered in my ear. I jumped and spun around, catching his eye and my face bursting into red. "I smelt that bird once I got in here. Not good, Lovell, not good." He chided.

"S'not my fault," I murmured. "he just…was there and I kinda just didn't freak."

"Let's just get through this, okay?" He insisted, and waited patiently but expectantly for me to open the door. I turned an found the knob and twisted, pushing it open, spotting the bird nudging my ipod that was hooked up to the speaker with its beak. I smiled and opened the door all the way, walking in and closing it after Daren stepped inside. It turned its head and fluttered off the chair that it was standing on to reach the ipod and came and climbed up my jeans, making its way up to my shoulders. It narrowed his eyes at Daren, but quickly went back to laying lazily on me.

"Phew, he's small." Daren said.

"Yeah, so what! He's just cuter that way."

"You're so incredibly innocent." He said, ruffling my short hair. He went and sat down on the bed, elbows on his knees. "Now, tell me how this happened."

I fiddled with my fingers and bit my lip, with that feeling that was like when you were with your parents at a conference with your teacher and your guidance counselor, and it was on you to figure out why you were getting C's.

Despite my pressured state, I slowly started to tell him what'd been happening, starting when I got home from the shop. I told him about first seeing him, how he just appeared on the balcony, and then went on to describe the mark-thingy. By the end of it all, I was sitting next to Daren, the bird nesing next to me, with my head in my hands and just trying to figure out why I couldn't get a normal reaction out of myself. It just felt so normal, seeing this weirdo bird, having my Vamp warrior next to me, talking about all these things, going through weird stuff because it was what had to happen, it all felt primal, like I couldn't get away from it; it was kind of just instinct, maybe.

"It's not normal, Lovell, not even for a Vampire." He said, nodding his head. I looked up at him, weary and incapable of going any further into this. The stress wasn't from worrying about what was happening, it was from _trying_ to worry about what was happening.

His protective arms draped around me, and I leaned into them fully, closing my eyes and before I could stop the stupid thought, it came. Very randomly.

_Wonder what Koda's thinking…_leading to a replay of what happened in the shop. I winced when Daren's arms tightened around me, and I looked up at him, my eyes threatening to tear up. Stupid, stupid, stupid thought, it was just an accident, the whole thing. But Daren met my eyes, and I could see the trickling pain behind the darkness. I started hiccupping and sobbing, my whole body breaking down at that moment. I hugged him, throwing my arms around him and burying my face in his chest, the only thought racing through my mind now being _I love you! I love you so much, so please…_ He hugged me back and I could hear the bird go out to the balcony, sensing that we wanted to be together. I kept crying, kept holding him as tight as I could.

"Lovell," he said, his voice cracking, making me cry harder. "I love you, too, more then you can ever imagine."

_I know…_


	13. Chapter 13

School or Disney World? Decisions, Decisions.

I woke up when the sun threw light on my face, and felt arms around me. I turned in them and saw Daren's sleeping face, his eyes closed and his hair tousled and messy. His jacket was on the floor, and he was just wearing a white T and jeans, his body keeping me cool under the too-hot sheets. I felt my cheeks burning, inflamed by the close proximity, but I liked it all the same. He'd refused to leave because I wouldn't stop crying, and the only way I was falling asleep was if he was with me, and him being with me now even made me feel better. Then again, it didn't.

_Please wake up, Daren._ I thought, my cheeks burning more with every second that passed. Him being awake was good, he was conscious of what he was doing, but he was asleep so…he couldn't feel my chest against his. I edged myself carefully away from him, as far as his arms would allow, which was far enough so that I wasn't breathing in his breath. But I moved too much and he opened his eyes slowly, and I knew my cheeks were still flaming and that my pulse was still high.

"Lovell?" He murmured sleepily, his eyes half open.

I tried to swallow past the heart in my throat, and mumbled "Yeah?"

"Are you done crying?" He asked, his eyes gazing steadily at me.

"I-I guess s-so." I stuttered, making my face _even_ rosier. He arms unlocked and I carefully moved away, slipping out of the sheets and sitting on the side of the bed. I breathed deeply and tried to stop the burning feeling in my cheeks. But before I could gain control of myself, Daren's finger traced from the bottom of my jaw, down my neck, and rested on the mark.

"W-what are you doing?" I asked, blushing and sweating, and unable to move.

"You're pretty, Lovell. I'm admiring it." He sat down behind me and folded his legs so that one was behind my back and the other one was off the side of the bed, running against my own leg. He wrapped his arms around my waist and put his head next to mine. "Is that wrong?"

I breathed in deep and forced my stomach to stop bouncing. I turned and faced him, my eyes on his. "Course not." I said, wrapping my arms around his neck and nuzzling my nose against his. I rested my forehead against his, looking into his bottomless eyes, and just getting lost. He cupped my face in his hands and ran his thumbs across my cheek bones, and I carefully moved forward, closed my eyes and found his lips under mine.

His hands ran down my body and wrapped around my back, tugging me closer to him as I leaned in closer and kissed him for a long time, breathing heavily when I pulled away. I looked in his eyes and I realized that they had specks of reflective purple in them, making his eyes kind of like a kaleidoscope. I smiled at him and giggled.

"What?" He asked, questioning look on his face.

"Your eyes are kaleidoscope-ey." I bubbled, kissing him playfully and twirling his hair in my fingers behind his neck. "I really love them."

"Mmm, I see." He said, letting his lips glide down my neck. He laced my collarbone with kisses and me laugh as he brushed my hair behind my ears and smoothed it down. I giggled and he would smile, and I could tell he was really happy. That made me laugh more, and the happiness just kept going back and forth.

"I'll be right back." He said and slid away, leaving me with a completely perplexed expression on my face and my arms around air.

I waited in the room for a while, then got up and went on the balcony, the sunlight making me squint before my eyes adjusted. Something rummaged in the tree that leaned over the balcony, like literally was right over the balcony; I could climb down it with ease. I peered into the thick leaves and before I could spot it, the bird popped out of the branches and clambered on top of my shoulders, the black feathers catching the sunlight.

"Hey, you…you need a name," I greeted, scratching him under his chin. "How about…Ryo?" It just gave me this blank look. Then the perfect name popped into my mind. "Tweety!" It chirped and fluttered, and I knew that was it.

_What could be so bad about this little guy?_ I thought, my mind wandering. My door opened and closed, and I looked over my shoulder. Daren walked in with a beer, a soda, and a bag of doritoes. He threw me the can of soda and came to stand next to me and Tweety, popping the bag of chips and holding them open to me as he simultaneously opened the beer against the railing.

"Underage much?" I smirked, eyeing him with a curious expression. He took a swig and gave me a small smile.

"When you've been around long as I have, you have a natural resistance to things like this. If you drink it enough, I guess." He said, shrugging. "It would take me ten beers to get buzzed."

"What about shots? Of…scotch." I asked.

"I don't know. I don't like most hard liquor. Wine, beer, and some brandy and vodka here and there." He said taking another gulp. "Today's a school day, right?" He asked, his face completely calm, while, at the mere mention of it, my mind started racing and my happy mood was shattered.

"Damn it!" I yelled, and fled back into my room, pulling my drawers open and changing while he stayed on the balcony and watched Ryo, who'd jumped from my shoulders and onto the railing before I'd spasmed. "What're you doing?! Do you have any plan to go to school at all?!" I snapped.

"Do you?" He asked, his eyes still on the field.

"Obviously!" I shrieked, motioning to my fully dressed body and the back pack slung over my shoulders.

"Then I do plan to go to school." He said, slinging his jacket over his shoulder and draining the beer. He scratched Tweety's chin and I had a feeling that the little birdie would know to stay out of trouble and if Jason came home, he would stay out of his way. Daren grabbed my hand and tugged me down the stairs, grabbing my keys on the way out and helping himself to the driver's seat of my truck. I got in the passenger's seat and glanced at the dashboard.

"Fantastic…" I muttered under my breath, watching as it switched from 9:30 to 9:31 – two hours later then when classes started.

But Daren drove fast. Really, _really _fast. We arrived at school in ten minutes and we both jogged up the stairs into the building.

It was weird, with no one else in the halls, when usually there were people chatting and moving around, with backpacks bumping and hugs being exchanged. I looked around and saw that Daren was sill standing next to me. I felt sluggish. Didn't wanna move, didn't feel like going to math.

"Well, you wanted to come to school." Daren reminded me, looking at me out of the corner of his eye.

"But I'm sleepy and I didn't _want_ to come to school; I _have_ to come to school." I said, drooping my head and cursing this hell hole.

"There's only two weeks of school left. You don't have to take finals or anything, you're just floating by. Would you be up for a skip?" He asked, looking at me.

I shifted and felt the weight of my backpack dig further into my shoulders. I had never rejected an opportunity to get out of school, never. But this felt like taking advantage of my situation, with the facts that Daren presented to me. "I…I shouldn't…" I said, chewing n my lip and standing there, staring at my toes with my back straight.

"But you will?" Daren said, looking at me and waiting for me to answer, but I had a feeling we both knew the answer.

"Yeah. I guess."

"Disney Land?" I asked, giving him a huge question mark look, eyebrows raised and all.

"What? Don't you like Disney Land?" He asked.

"I like Universal and Islands of Adventure…but Disney Land? And Magic Kingdom, none the less." I just stared at the people that were scooting by us, all of them hot and sweaty in the middle of May, waving their ticket passes as fans. I sighed and kicked a stray rock. "I don't know how to have fun here."

"You ride one rollercoaster, find the least crowded restaurant, and then spend the rest of your time sneaking around the backstreets and scaring little ki- Ow!" He said, rubbing his arm where I'd slugged him with all my might.

"How could you! Making little kids pee their pants because you can! That's it, I'm taking control of today!" I said, grabbing his arm and dragging him through the sea of people until we found a cotton candy machine. The fluffy sugar whirled around and around, and the guy managing it asked me, "Would you like one, Miss?" I looked up, dazed, and nodded. He took a paper cone and stuck it in the hurricane, the result being a pillow of sugar. "One dollar."

I started to fumble around in my bag, but before I could object, Daren gave him the dollar and smiled. "Thanks." He said. I didn't start eating it until a couple minutes later when Daren said, "What's with you? Did you not want the cotton candy?"

I looked up at him, then back down at the sweet. I took a bite and smiled. "Do you want some?" I asked, gazing at the fluff.

"Sure." I held the stick up for him and he pulled a piece off with his mouth and eyed me. "Is there something about cotton candy…"

"I haven't had it…in a really long time. Me and my mom used to make it using this little machine that I got for Christmas. Then it broke…" I trailed off, taking another mouthful. I looked up at him and he was looking at me quizzically, like he was trying to put two and two together. I looked in front of me and saw the "It's a Small World After All," ride. I tugged him towards it and we got in line.

"You're a little weird, has anyone ever told you that?" Daren said, wrapping his hand around mine that was on the cone and guiding it closer so that he could take another bite.

"Countless times." I said, leaning on him and listening to the Small World song that would surely be stuck in my head for the rest of the day. "Has anyone told you that you are a major cotton candy hogger?" I muttered, eyeing the cotton candy that was still being controlled by him.

"No, this would be the first time." He said, taking one more bite and returning custody to me. It was our turn and we slid into the little boat's two-seater. "By the way, why id you chose this ride?" He inquired.

"Me and my best friends in the world went on this ride when we were in middle school on a field trip. But that was in… I think Arizona." I explained, munching on the candy.

"Do you miss them?"

"A lot. But Matty and Rachel…and Josh and Cory…they're great friends." I watched as the felt and plastic scenery floated by. China, Mexico, Sweden…

"Hmm, you're really lucky." He murmured, and his eyes looked a little sad, but I figured that it was a memory he didn't want to remember.

"So, what do you want to do after this?" I asked, my eyes on his. He looked a little surprised.

"Didn't you say you were going to take control of the day?"

"Yeah, I realized a couple minutes afterwards that you used reverse psychology on me." I said, smirking. The fact that I fell for it in the first place was a shame.

He laughed. "Well, I guess we can find a restaurant."

"Fine with me, Child-Scare-er."

"Happiest place on Earth? As if!" I complained, as we stumbled into an empty restaurant where only a few other people were. Outside, the sweaty masses grew more and more agitated as the day went on.

A waitress was there, and she looked Daren up and down, before she said, "Where would you like to sit?" in that peppy voice.

"A window seat would be nice, right Lovell?" he said. "Yeah." I answered. The waitress looked defeated, but she still led us to a table that had a view of one of the man made lakes in the park.

"To drink?" She inquired.

"Just waters." Daren ordered, and she scuttled away. I looked around me and wondered why this place wasn't packed like all the other restaurants we'd passed. "It's weird, isn't it?" He asked.

"Yeah, and this place seems nicer then the other places we looked at." I responded. The waitress came back with the waters and Daren and I both put our orders in. A couple minutes later she came back, carrying one plate with a hamburger and a basket load of French fries, and the other plate carrying fish and chips. She set them down at their respective places and I tore a chunk of fish off and dunked it in ketchup.

We finished not too long after, got the check, and headed back outside, where the day was turning into dusk and people seemed a little less sweaty. We were just strolling, and Daren bought me a couple things from the stands along the walkways even though I told him not to. By the time we got to the heart of the park, a statue of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse holding hands, announcements for the fireworks were playing. We sat on one of the benches near the statue and looked up into the sky, where the first stars were twinkling, like diamonds in the rough.

"Lovell, did you enjoy today?" He started. "Or do you still not like Disney World?"

I smiled and laid my head against his shoulder. "I'm happy, Daren."

Apparently, he didn't want anymore then that.


	14. Chapter 14

_Oh my gooooodness, thanks to everyone who's reading my story, it's my first one and all, so I'm reaaaally happy. ^ ^ Keep reading! And I would love reviews, too! _

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Pinky Promise.

So, the next day, Tweety practically poked my eyes out, forcing me to get up and go to school.

As I dragged myself from class to class, I had to fight to keep my eyes open since I hadn't really slept very well last night, what with the people in my dreams trying to kill me and all. And that bird woke me up an hour early, _when_ I had, very responsibly, set my alarm clock. On the even _brighter_ side of things, Daren wasn't even there, and the lunch I'd planned to sleep through ended up being a battle to defend my experience the day before. Ah, but the war t'was not over yet.

Ren, the Psychic teacher, had also requested that I come see her between classes to pick up something, which I had no clue as to what it was. Alas, my day seemed to be closing to a bitter end.

But do not fret, my fine feathered friends! I had no clue what it was anyways, so let's find out. We're walking, we're walking, and there I was, standing in front of Ren's room, my mind racing! (Ugh, so sleepy, and yet I'm able to do this theatrical crap. Well, I'm not continuing with it.) So, I opened the door, and who would ever guess that the room was friggin' empty…no Ren…but there was a note on the table that looked like it was meant to be picked up. I walked over and scooped it up, lots and lots of curses running through my head.

Sorry, Lovell, but I had to leave early. What I wanted to ask you was to teach my last class (I have no fourth period class.), since I wont be in. You read those books I gave you, right? Anyways, just tell them to meditate. If I'm not back tomorrow, I've already called a friend to make sure there's someone to conduct class. Sorry for asking such a weird favor!

~Mrs. Ren J. Riola

I had half a sleepy mind to burn that room down and then get her number and shout thousands of curses into her ear. It wasn't like I was friends with her and she could call in a freakin' favor! No!

So, I did the only thing I knew to do. I went to the front office.

"Excuse me…" I said when I walked in, but there wasn't anyone in the front office, just like Ren's room. When I thought about it through a drowsy, murky mind, there hadn't been anyone in the halls either. I raced back out of the office and started going down the hall, just opening up each door there was and finding that nobody was in any of them.

Suddenly, I was wide awake. I started shouting to see if anyone responded, but the whole school was empty. Not one teacher, janitor, or any staff. I raced outside the school, trampling over the organized courtyard and jumping over the short wall that ran around part of the school.

_The hell?_ I looked both ways down the street, and all I saw were cars and trucks that had no drivers in them and were just stopped in the street, with a couple pile ups here and there.

There wasn't _anyone_ there. It was like everyone had just disappeared in the middle of what they were doing.

I'd left my back pack in the school, so I started sprinting, down the street, bursting into the diner me a Jason ate at the first few days I was here. Dishes that waitresses had probably been carrying were smashed on the floor and silverware was everywhere. The smell of smoke was coming from the kitchen: burning home fries and bacon. I dashed behind the counter and grabbed the nearest fire extinguisher, putting out the fire and turning the stoves off, not sure why, but dashing to the next place and seeing the same kind of thing: no one was there, but it was obvious they had been a couple minutes ago.

I pulled out my phone and tried 9-1-1, but it just went blank after that monotone lady came on and said it couldn't be connected. But then a call came _in_. I pressed talk immediately, not even bothering to see if it was someone I knew.

"Lovell, are you okay!?" I almost cried. It was Daren. "Lovell answer m-"

"I'm here!" I screamed, my mind swimming.  
"Lo-you-get out!" He shouted, and I turned around, knowing that he was saying I had to get out. I started running again when I felt the hairs on the back of my neck standing up. The air crackled and I forced my legs to stretch longer and faster. I held the phone in my hand, and I could hear Daren's voice being broken, crackling and get choppy as the connection failed. I closed the phone and turned around seeing that dark, robed, looming figures were coming – hell. For me.

I threw my phone as hard as I could at one of them and it shattered against its shoulder.

But I kept running. I could out run them, probably, if I just made it out of Oviedo.

Burning lungs? No biggie.

Numb legs? I can deal.

My feet aching from hitting the asphalt? Puh-SHA!

As long as I could keep running, that didn't matter.

I started winding through the city, fast as I could, like a madman. But the electricity in the air just seemed to be coming from all sides, and getting closer. I didn't even bother to look back and see if they were still there, I could just tell. Those Vamps were practically making the place go Boom Boom Pow with their in-sync movement.

I spun around a corner and came that close to crashing, almost becoming horizontal with the road as my feet went a little further forwards when they had received the message to TURN. And then, I could see the edge of Oviedo, and I busted it into high gear, my blood boiling and my heart running like an engine, all cylinders flying. I was just about to pass the sign when it felt like I was swimming in a pool made out of peanut butter. My limbs moved _way _slow, but I still pushed as hard as I could, _feeling it_. If I got out of Oviedo, I'd be home free.

But then, like a rubber band stretched to the extreme that was too stubborn to snap, it sent me flying backwards, my butt hitting the ground and tumbling towards doom at fifty miles an hour.

_Fuck!_ I felt my jeans shred and my back get torn up so much it felt like I'd never be able to crack it again. But as soon as the momentum was right, I twisted and stood up, turning to hightail it out of there.

Unfortunately, those Vamps were just being slow to humor me. When they saw me going in for round two against the peanut butter prison wall, they completely surrounded me. Two grabbed my arms and twisted them behind me, my bloody back stinging with the contact. But pain was no punishment for me. I writhed and kicked as they restrained me, holding me down and then wrapping rope around me. I twisted and pulled, pushing and biting anything I could get a grip on. I scratched hands that were working on my wrists and kicked anyone I could right between the legs, some reacting and some not.

But then they got my feet and hands tied, and tied a blindfold over my eyes. Then I felt something that _really_ hurt. Right on my wrist, I could feel it: it was really cold and stung like hell, and I arched my head so that I could at least pull part of the blindfold out of the way, but they'd tied it tight. I went still, and I couldn't move.

_Am I drugged?_ I panicked and screamed as something cut along the mark, sending waves of fierce pain through my body as it all went black.

_A boy's standing in a garden with a little girl that looks a year younger then him, and she's crying. In the garden, there are all sorts of plants that glow and shimmer as wind blows glittery pollen from them and carries it away. _

_ "Don't worry, I'll return someday, I promise." The boy says, with purple eyes like kaleidoscopes. The girl, with black hair and green eyes, looks up from her hands, tears running down her round face._

_ She hiccups with sobs and asks, "Pinky promise?" The boy smiles, ruffles her hair, and holds out is pinky with a kind of smile that's warm._

_ "Pinky promise."_

_ "I promise Lovell, I'll get you out of here." In the darkness, she sees the pinky promise she made with him so long ago._

_ "Pinky promise?" She can see his smile in the black abyss. _

_ "Pinky promise."_


End file.
